blogs

An interesting comparison between Verizon FiOS the first communications service provider to offer fiber optic connections directly into your home and Dish Network a leader in satellite television. Both companies offer tons of HD, great features, such as remote operation of your DVR receiver, interactive guides and menus, multi-room DVR units, and robust programming options, like NFL RedZone, and Video-on Demand. In all Verizon FiOS provides customers with 320-total channels, 75-HD channels, and Dish Network 295-channels, 140-HD channels. It is important to note that the FiOS Multi-room DVR has significantly less capacity (80-hours of Standard definition programming and 20-hours of HD programming), compared to Dish Network's ViP722 HD-DVR (355-standard definition, 55-HD programming).

Verizon, like cable companies has the ability to offer video, Internet and voice solutions to its customer base. Dish Network concentrates its efforts in delivering the very best television experience possible at the most affordable prices possible. Dish does partner with many DSL and phone providers for those looking to acquire all three services. Verizon bundles aren't available everywhere, because FiOS is not yet available everywhere. Check your local area.

There is no doubt when it comes to television that these two providers are hands down the most innovative, in terms of technology and quality they offer customers. With these two the decision may come down to value, price and content provided in each package - lets examine the options.

FiOS Packages vs Dish Network Packages

FiOS offers just two programming options, FiOS TV Essentials and FiOS TV Extreme HD, lets start with FiOS TV Essentials. This package offers customers, more than 250-channels; 14-available in HD. The package includes local channels, on-demand options and some 95-commerical free music selections. The price on this package is $47.99 per month.

Dish Network’s comparable package, Classic Silver-200 provides customers with more than 220-channels, 70 of which are available in HD. The package includes local channels, video-on-demand options and Sirius Satellite Radio Stations; the price is normally $52.99 per month, but in promotion for the first year of service at $37.99 per month.

FiOS HD vs Dish Network HD

FiOS TV Extreme HD offers over 320-channels, 65 available in HD. The package includes all of the programming found in TV Essentials, plus 14-sports channels and over 60 additional channels, 40-of which are in HD. This package is priced at $57.99 per month.

Dish Network counters FiOS TV Extreme with Classic Gold-250, which provides over 260 channels, 80 of which are available in HD. Sports offerings here include, the Big Ten Network, CBS College Sports Television, all of the ESPN Networks, Golf Channel, NBA TV, NFL Network, Tennis Channel, Speed Channel, Versus and other regional sports networks. The package is normally $62.99 per month, but in promotion for $47.99 for the first year.

With FiOS if you wish to add Premium Movie channels to your lineup such as, HBO, Showtime, Starz or Cinemax, your options are as follows:

Movie Channels: FiOS vs Dish Network

•HBO, Cinemax and the FiOS Movie Bundle - 70 movie channels for $35.00 per month.
•HBO & Cinemax bundled - 25-movies channels for $21.99 per month.
•Cinemax offers 12-channels for $11.99 per month.
•FiOS Movie package has 45-channels (including, Showtime, Starz, The Movie Channel, Encore, Flix, IFC and Sundance) for $14.99 per month.
•FiOS Epix package, the first and only service to offer unlimited access to every monthly movie choice on TV, On Demand, and Online is $9.99 per month.

Dish Network allows you to subscribe to each premium movie channel individually, for example:

•HBO has 8-channels, $15.99 per month
•Showtime has 10-channels for $12.99 per month
•Cinemax 5-channels, for $12.99 per month
•Starz 8-channels for $12.99 per month
•Playboy - $15.99 per month

Bundling Premium channels is very straightforward with Dish Network as well:

•Bundle any two premiums - $22.00 per month
•Bundle any three premiums - $31.00 per month
•Bundle any four premiums - $40.00 per month
•Bundle all five premiums (32-channels) for $50.00 per month

Of course you can always subscribe to Dish Network's Americas Everything Pak and get every channel offered, including all of the Premium Movie channels, and Multi-Sports pack for $102.98 per month, $87.98 for the first year of service.

Verizon FiOS offers promotions only if you get television and Internet services, then you would receive $150 cash back in the form of a prepaid gift card issues by MetaBank - you only get this offer once you have service for 60-days and assuming you have no late payments on your account.

Sports: FiOS vs Dish Network

If its sports you desire FiOS offers:

•Football - NFL Network and NFL Red Zone $49.99 for the season
•Baseball - MLB Network, (FiOS does not offer MLB Extra Innings)
•Basketball - NBA League Pass, (FiOS does not offer NBA TV)
•Hockey - NHL Center Ice, Versus, (FiOS does not offer NHL Network)
•College Sports - ESPN Full Court, ESPN Game Plan, Big Ten Network
•Soccer/Other Sports - Setanta Sports, WWE, MLS Direct Kick, Fox Soccer Channel, Speed Channel - Plus all of the ESPN networks and Regional Sports Networks

Dish Network Sports compares this way:

•Football - NFL Network and NFL Red Zone, however Red Zone won't cost you $50 like it does with FiOS. Customers can add the Multi-Sports package to their lineup for $5.99 per month and get Red Zone as part of that package as well as over 30-other sports networks.
•Baseball - you can watch your local teams, but MLB Network and MLB Extra Innings are not found here.
•Basketball - NBA League Pass is available and NBA TV is available in Classic Silver and above.
•Hockey - Dish offers Versus, NHL Network and NHL Center Ice
•College Sports - ESPN Full Court, ESPN Game Plan, Big Ten Network and CBS College Sports are all part Dish Networks, sports offerings.
•Soccer/Other Sports - MLS Direct Kick, Setanta Sports, Cricket, WWE, UFC and more - Plus all of the ESPN networks and Regional Sports Networks.

When it comes to choosing a television provider, value usually rules the day for most consumers and the comparisons reveal that Dish Network offers the most for your hard earned money. read more »

Probably the most obvious question asked when comparing Dish Network to the nations leading cable provider is how well does the service work. Dish Network has a 99.9% signal reliability rate, while Comcast enjoys nearly the same outage performance, high 90’s. So either service will deliver on its promise of reliability.

Always the most important issues, after reliability are programming and cost. Both Comcast and Dish Network have all of the popular channels both broadcast and cable as well as sports, premium movies, adult and International offerings.

Comcast's Starter Cable package is regularly $53.39 per month, with a 6-month promotional rate of $29.99. The package includes Comcast's basic channel lineup, with music channels added in, roughly 80-channels total.

Dish Network counters with its Classic Bronze 100+ package, providing over 120-channels, with local channels and regional sports networks included. This package is normally $44.99 per month, but in promotion for the first year at $29.99 per month.

Comcast Digital Preferred has more than 100-digital channels and 45-music stations and starts at $68.34 per month. It is in this package that Comcast makes available its on-demand service, but be careful, not all of the programming is free, just what you subscribe and pay for.

It is at this level that Dish Network's overwhelming value comes into play, with two packages, Classic Silver 200 and Classic Gold 250 both offering more for less than Comcast's Digital Preferred. Classic Silver 200 has over 220-channels and is a bargain at $52.99 per month, but Dish discounts it to $37.99 per month for the first year. Classic Gold 250 has more than 260-channels, over 100 more than Comcast's Digital Preferred and at a regular rate of $62.99 per month it is nearly $6 cheaper. Classic Gold is also in promotion for $47.99 per month for the first year.

Comcast Preferred Plus is next and is normally $100.99 per month, but is in promotion for $49.99 per month for the first six months. The package includes the entire Digital Preferred lineup, plus all of the premium movie channels, (HBO, Starz, Showtime and Cinemax).

Comcast Digital Premier is the cable giant's best package, which is all of the programming found in Preferred Plus and includes also a 25-channel sports package for $119.99 per month and discounted to $79.99 for the first six months.

Preferred Plus and Digital Premier are the two packages Comcast targets to perspective customers, as being loaded with entertainment value, but true TV lovers will want to explore Dish Network's ultimate television experience known as America's Everything Pak. With over 295 channels, including 31-premium movies offerings from HBO, Showtime, Starz and Cinemax, a 32-channel Multi-Sports package, and Sirius Satellite Radio stations, the package is a bargain at $102.99. In fact you can add all 140 high-definition channels that Dish offers and still pay less than Comcast's Digital Premier. This package is also in promotion for new customers at just $87.99 for the first year.

Comcast includes High-Definition programming with each level of it's service, but selection is limited to around 30-channels and Comcast charges $7 per month for an HDTV receiver. It seems a much better value, assuming you are serious about HD programming to pay $10 per month and receive Dish Network's 140-HD channels.

A slight edge in sports goes to Comcast, mainly because of baseball. Comcast carries the MLB Network, as well as MLB Extra Innings, where Dish Network has yet to reach an agreement. You can still watch your local teams play on Dish Network, but you won’t be able to subscribe to out-of-market games. MLB extra Innings is normally around $180 for the season, hence the slight edge.

Another area of advantage with Comcast is bundled services, (television, Internet and phone). Dish Network does partner with DSL and phone providers though, so in this area it will be personal preference and weighing Dish Network's superiority in television with Comcast's high-speed Internet options. Keep these things in mind, however when considering a Comcast Triple Play bundle, you could potential be without all three services, should there be an outage, also many Comcast customers report their bills going up by 40-50% after the initial promotion ends.

When it comes to equipment and technology within that equipment, Comcast is left wanting. Dish Network's ViP722 Duo HD-DVR is considered the most superior receiver in the industry and has received editor’s choice awards three consecutive years. Outclassing Comcast in storage capacity for both standard-definition and high-definition, functionality, the Dish receiver can provide a fully functional DVR in multiple rooms and ease of use. Superior technology doesn't do anyone any good if its not easy to use. Dish Network gets full marks here and best for last; the receiver is free to new customers. Comcast charges $13.99 per month for its DVR service, while Dish Network is just $5.98.

Finally some customer service considerations. While most customers will admit that it is not high on their factors list when weighing their options for new service, it should be noted that Customer Satisfaction surveys from last year place Comcast dead last. Only Charter Communications was rated as poorly. Dish Network placed a close second, behind fellow satellite provider DIRECTV. read more »

On the surface comparing Dish Network to Time Warner, the nations second largest cable company, may seem like a mismatch. The results however, will shock you.

As Dish Network begins to make inroads against giant cable companies like Time Warner and competition heats up, it is Dish Network that competes with increased value and technology, while Time Warner seems more interested in increasing its bottom line with rate increases, that are not accompanied by any additional benefits for its customers.

Like most cable companies, Time Warner has become enamored with trying to make money off of its customers with three services (television, Internet and phone) rather than one. This has unfortunately caused the quality and value of its television service to be greatly diminished. Dish Network concentrates solely on making its television service the very best in the nation and their efforts have not gone unnoticed by consumers.

Let's examine the numbers:

With Dish Network pricing is very straightforward, promotions are easy to obtain and understand, packages are loaded with value and prices are the same nationwide. Time Warner in most cases is harder to figure out than Congressional Bill. Prices in New York will be different than prices in Ohio. Packages available in California may not be available in Texas and promotions in Los Angeles may be very different in San Diego. For comparative purposes we will examine one of Time Warner's most economical areas in North Carolina.

Time Warner's Premium One Digital Tier (140-channels) is $71.95 per month, it includes local channels, but DVR service is an additional $10.95 per month. Time Warner includes HD channels for Free, but there are only 18-HD channels.

Time Warner's Basic Service (45-channels) is $34.83 per month and to move up a Tier (95-channels) the price jumps to $56.66 per month. If you need a second TV serviced it will cost an additional $7.23 per month.

Dish Network has no less than three packages that provide customers with significantly more value than Time Warner’s offerings. Dish Network's Classic Bronze package has 120-channels and is regularly $39.99 per month and is currently in promotion for $24.99 for the first year. Classic Silver has 220-channels and is priced normally at $52.99, $37.99 for the first year. Classic Gold has over 260-channels and at $62.99 is still nearly $10-per month cheaper than Time Warner's best package and provides 120-more channels. If that isn't shocking enough you can get Gold for $47.99 for the first year.

Local channels are included in all of Dish Network’s packages; DVR service is just an additional $5.98 and services two televisions. Time Warner is nearly double that price for DVR service on one TV. Time Warner's current DVR capacity is 80-hours in standard-definition and 35-hours in high-definition - compared to Dish Network's 350-hours in SD and 55-HD. Now HD service will cost you an additional $10.00 with Dish Network, but they have 140-HD channels.

Movie lovers will be overwhelmed by Dish Network's America's Everything package which offers more than 295-channels for $102.99 / $87.99 for the first year. The package has 32-Premium Movie Channels from HBO, Showtime, Starz and Cinemax.

Sports fans will also flock to Dish Network. NFL Network and NFL Red Zone channels are staples with Dish Network and not available with Time Warner. Time Warner does carry MLB Extra Innings, which runs about $200 per season, and MLB Network, where Dish Network does not. Coverage of your local baseball teams is available through Dish, however.

If you are looking to bundle television, Internet and phone, or watch out of market baseball games, Time Warner may be a consideration. If you are looking to get more for your hard-earned money, Dish Network is the clear choice for value. read more »

You've heard the old saying, "if it were a fight they'd have stopped it". This is exactly the feeling that arises when comparisons are done between AT&T U-verse and Dish Network. The comparison is somewhat skewed by the fact that AT&T U-verse is still in its early stages of development. Anyone who’s been a beta tester for a software product can attest to the pain involved with that, but then again, you usually receive the software for free. Do you really want to pay good money for something that is still being tweaked?

Perhaps all a consumer needs to know about the U-verse product is that while AT&T has advertising it, they have also been selling DIRECTV and in fact, once were partnered with Dish Network and sold both quite aggressively in markets where U-verse was fully deployed.

Admittedly both U-verse and Dish Network are very reliable services, so customers cannot go wrong with either service there, but there are major differences concerning price, programming options and value. Of course in areas where U-verse is available, AT&T will want you to buy more than one of their services, so we will attempt to compare apples with apples and compare the television options.

AT&T U-verse offers a Family package and a U100 package; curiously both are $49 per month. The Family package has 70-channels and the U100 has 130 channels. Anyone else seeing the obvious problem with both packages being priced the same?

Dish Network offers three packages with considerably more value. The first being their Classic Bronze package with over 120-channels and priced regularly at $39.99, and in promotion for $24.99 for the first year. Next is the Classic Silver package with over 220-channels, priced regularly at $52.99 and, also in promotion for $37.99 for the first year. The most overwhelming value is the Classic Gold package with more than 260-channels double the amount U-verse would provide for just $13-more a month, regularly $62.99 - yes - you guessed it, also in promotion for $47.99 for the first year. AT&T U-verse can provide a package with up to 230-channels, but pricing on this U-200 package starts at $64.00 per month.

AT&T's best programming package is the U-450, a package containing nearly 400-channels, including premium movie channel packs for HBO and Cinemax, and a sports package that contains roughly 20-regional sports networks from around the country. This package is regularly $109.00 per month.

The equivalent for Dish Network to the U-450 is the America's Everything package, which contains more than 295-channels, 31-premium movie channels from HBO, Showtime, Starz and Cinemax and a 32-channel Multi-Sports package, which offers NFL Red Zone, NHL Network, NFL Network and NBA TV.

Both AT&T U-verse and Dish Network offer free installation and free equipment for their customers, however Dish Network includes their CNET Editors Choice Award Winning ViP722 Duo HD-DVR among its free offerings. Both U-verse and Dish Network charge just $10 per month for HD-programming, with U-verse offering 110-HD channels and Dish Network coming in at 140-HD channels. DVR service is a bit tilted in Dish Network's favor, award-winning receivers and a storage capacity advantage of 350-hours of standard-definition and 55-hours of high-definition programming, compared to AT&T's 233-hours SD and 65-hours HD.

Although AT&T U-verse is now positioned as a solid alternative to your local cable company, its availability is still quite limited. Still, if you are fortunate to live in an area where it is available, it is very hard to ignore the technology, programming and cost advantages of Dish Network, where value is the name of the game for consumers. read more »

What better way for the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans to kick off Mardi Gras in a couple of weeks then to win their first Super Bowl in franchise history. The Saints came into the game as the underdogs against the high powered Indianapolis Colts offense led by NFL offensive MVP Peyton Manning.

Heading into the game most of the attention seem to focus on the Colts and their key players and not too much about the Saints even though both teams came in 1st in their conferences. Even ESPN sports analyst praised the Colts Peyton Manning and how much he means to game and how another Super Bowl win could propel him into legendary status as arguably the best to ever play the game. People seemed to forget about Saints quarterback Drew Brees and the huge numbers he put up this year while leading the saints to 13 straight victories to start the season and wins over the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings in the playoffs to make it to the Super Bowl, but Brees did make sure people will not under estimate him again.

Once the kickoff started both teams seemed ready for a game that they have been working so hard for all season long to finally take place. In the first quarter it seemed as though the Saints offense was trying to get a feel for how the colts defense was going to adjust since Colts pro bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney was playing on a torn up ankle. Meanwhile the Colts offense came out firing as always and took a 10-0 lead going into the second quarter and the game looked like it could get out of hand. But the Saints started to click at the end of the second quarter as they were able to put 6 points up on the board and closed out the half trailing 10-6.

The Second half however belonged to the Saints starting with an onside kickoff that they recovered. That play turned out to be the biggest turning point in the game, not only did it awaken the players on the field but also the entire Bourbon St in downtown New Orleans and rest of WHO DAT nation. With the momentum in their favor the Saints quickly scored and took a 13-10 lead. But not to be outdone the Colts put together a long drive and took the lead again 17-13 before the Saints closed out the third quarter with a third 40+ yard field goal from kicker Garrett Hartley and trailed the Colts by one heading into the fourth quarter.

When the fourth quarter started in seemed like the game would come down to the last team with ball, but the Saints took the led on 2 yard touchdown catch by tight end Jeremy Shockey and a two point conversion that had to be reviewed by the officials with a little over 5 minutes left in the game. After that you could see everyone in attendance was expecting Manning to walk the Colts down the Field and score but Saints cornerback Tracy Porter jumped in front of a Manning pass and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown. Manning did get one last chance to bring his team back but they were unable to score on a 4th down with less than a minute left when Manning’s pass bounced right off the hands of his favorite target Reggie Wayne in the end zone giving the Saints the ball back and the victory.

For a city that has been through the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and years of fans wearing bags over their heads to games, this was for them and all of the other Saints faithful fans that stood by the team for 42 years and only 2 playoff wins in franchise history. Finally they are able to rejoice in the moment of being Super Bowl champions thanks to Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees.

We’re all excited this year to see who will take home an Oscar at the Academy Awards in March. The nominees were announced yesterday, as were the Golden Raspberry Awards, better known as the Razzies. These awards go to the worst nominees in each category. Sandra Bullock broke the mold when she became the first actor to be nominated for an Oscar and a Razzie! She was hailed for her performance in The Blind Side but booed for her acting in All About Steve! Check out the 30th annual Razzie Awards on March 6th at 7:30 PST with Dish Network satellite television. Here are the nominees for this year’s Razzies…

Worst Picture

All About Steve (I’m glad I didn’t see this)
Land of the Lost
G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra
Old Dogs
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Worst Actor

The Jonas Brothers for their 3-D Concert Experience
Will Ferrell in Land of the Lost
Steve Martin in Pink Panther 2
Eddie Murphy in Imagine That
John Travolta in Old Dogs

Worst Actress

Beyonce in Obsessed (100% yes)
Sandra Bullock in All About Steve
Miley Cyrus for Hannah Montana: The Movie
Megan Fox for Jennifer’s Body and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (That’s sad)
Sarah Jessica Parker in Did You Hear About the Morgans? (This should’ve happened a long time ago for Sarah J.P.)

Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel

G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra
Land of the Lost
Pink Panther 2
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Twilight Saga: New Moon (I think the first one bit too, shh)

Worst Director

Michael Bay for (you guessed it) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Walt Becker for Old Dogs
Brad Silberling for Land of the Lost
Stephen Sommers for G.I. Joe
Phil Traill for All About Steve

I’m very proud to state that I have seen none of the above!

I love the next one because you know these films just have to be absolutely horrible!

Worst Picture of the Decade

Battlefield Earth (2000)
Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
Gigli (2003)
I Know Who Killed Me (2007)
Swept Away (2002)

Worst Actor of the Decade

Ben Affleck
Eddie Murphy
Mike Myers (Not if you've seen 54!)
Rob Schneider
John Travolta

Worst Actress of the Decade

Mariah Carey
Paris Hilton
Lindsay Lohan
Jennifer Lopez
Madonna

(All are singers but Paris Hilton… hmm…)

Many of us have plenty of nominees that we could add to this list! Which actors and films would you choose?

Here are my picks of films from 2009 alone that would have been great candidates for an un-honorable mention…

Taken

This film surprisingly stars one of my favorite actors, Liam Neeson. I thought from the very beginning that the plot of the story would be much deeper than it seemed and a great twist would unravel but it turned out to be simple and completely uninteresting.

Friday the Thirteenth (The Remake)

I don’t believe there’s any need for explanation here.

Obsessed

The whole movie was predictable and even Idris Elba had a difficult time taking his acting seriously!

Night at the Museum 2

I watched this because I heard so many good reviews on the first one and I thought I’d have no problem catching on to the sequel. This movie might be okay for 3rd-graders but I don’t understand why any adult would enjoy watching this flick. Boring!

Whiteout

It looked like this movie was going to be full of suspense with a woman trapped in the arctic being hunted by a killer. I couldn’t wait to find out why she was trapped and why a killer would be murdering in ice-cold blizzard conditions so I plopped myself on the couch and prepared for adventure. The movie bit. The plot was dull and there was no mystery involved at all because you figured out what’s going on very early in the movie. Audiences are too smart these days for simple stories that are not challenging in any way. It may have been better were it released back in 1980.

The Other Man

Evidently 2009 was not very kind to Liam Neeson. I expected to be in store for a movie like Unfaithful with Richard Gere and Diane Lane and instead I watched an uneventful character study about a man who was being cheated on and decided to keep following his wife’s lover. I almost watched this movie in its entirety until I wondered why I was allowing myself to become that bored. This movie was so uninteresting that I wasn’t worried about missing anything if I shut it off before the conclusion.

NFL NEWS

Even though the Super Bowl is days away the Indianapolis Colts are already working on signing future hall of fame quarterback Peyton Manning to a long-term contract. Manning was signed until 2012 but clauses in his contract allowed his current contract to end in 2010. But the Colts have no intentions of letting him hit the open market with the possibilities of there being no salary cap next year. The Colts are willing to make Manning the richest player in NFL history which he deserves considering that Cincinnati Bengals Carlson Palmer is the highest paid quarterback in the league. Some sports experts think his new deal will be around $20 million a year until he retires.

NBA NEWS

Just when you thought things for the 4-43 New Jersey Nets couldn’t get any worse it did, assistant head coach Del Harris just resigned after yet another tough lost. Harris was arguably the coach on the Nets staff and did all he could to try and help a team that will almost certainly go down as the worst team in NBA history.

NBA GAMES ON TODAY

7:00 PM ET LA Clippers at Atlanta FSN Prime Ticket Fox Sports South
7:00 PM ET Chicago at Philadelphia WCIU COMCAST
7:00 PM ET New Jersey at Toronto YES
7:30 PM ET Washington at New York Comcast SportsNet Baltimore MSG
8:00 PM ET Miami at Boston ESPN
8:00 PM ET Oklahoma City at New Orleans KSBIHD Cox Sports Television
8:30 PM ET Golden State at Dallas CSNBayHD FOX SW
9:00 PM ET Portland at Utah KGW Port, Or FOX ROCKY
10:00 PM ET San Antonio at Sacramento FOX SW Comcast Sports Sacramento
10:30 PM ET Phoenix at Denver Altitude Sports ESPN
10:30 PM ET Charlotte at LA Lakers SportSouth FOX WEST

NBA SCORES FROM 2/2/10

Cleveland 105, Memphis 89
Indiana 130, Toronto 115
Orlando 99, Milwaukee 82
Detroit 97, New Jersey 93
LA Clippers 90, Chicago 82
Oklahoma City 106, Atlanta 99
Houston 119, Golden State 97

NCAA MENS TOP 25 GAMES ON TODAY

7:00 PM ET (1) Kansas at Colorado
7:00 PM ET (21) Pittsburgh at (6) West Virginia ESPN FULL COURT
7:00 PM ET South Florida at (8) Georgetown ESPN FULL COURT
7:00 PM ET Duquesne at (17) Temple
6:30 PM ET Penn State at (18) Ohio State
8:00 PM ET Mississippi State at (20) Vanderbilt ESPN FULL COURT
8:05 PM ET Wichita State at (22) Northern Iowa
7:30 PM ET Iowa State at (24) Baylor ESPN FULL COURT

NCAA MENS TOP 25 GAMES FROM 2/2/10

(2) Villanova 81, Seton Hall 71
(3) Kentucky 85, Mississippi 75
(4) Syracuse 85, Providence 68
(16) Wisconsin 67, (5) Michigan State 49
(11) Kansas State 76, Nebraska 57
(12) Brigham Young 76, TCU 56

NHL GAMES FOR TODAY

7:00 PM ET Ottawa at Buffalo RDS MSGB
8:30 PM ET St. Louis at Chicago CSNC
9:00 PM ET Carolina at Calgary
9:30 PM ET Philadelphia at Edmonton TSN
10:00 PM ET Detroit at Anaheim FOX WEST2 NHLNET

NHL SCORES FROM 2/2/10

Washington 4, Boston 1
Toronto 3, New Jersey 0
Tampa Bay 2, Atlanta 1
Montreal 3, Vancouver 2
Dallas 4, Minnesota 2
Phoenix 1, Nashville 0 (SO)
Colorado 5, Columbus 1
Los Angeles 2, NY Rangers 1
Detroit 4, San Jose 2

SOCCER NEWS

United States World cup soccer star DeMarcus Beasley car was set on fire outside of his home in Glasgow Scotland. This was the second time someone has vandalized Beasley’s car in the last couple of years. Police still have no idea of who caused the fire, but many people feel its probably fans of cross town rival Glasgow Celtics that are to blame.

Are you wondering who the nominees are for this year’s Oscars? I know I was dying to find out. This was a great year at the movies and there are many great films to choose from along with award-winning performances from many actors. The category of Best Picture has been increased from five nominations to ten this year. The biggest question is who will win Best Picture between “David and Goliath” or will neither one come home with the magic trophy? When I use the term “David and Goliath”, of course, I’m referring to the competition between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. Who do you think will win at the 82nd Academy Awards out of this great lineup that came out for the first time yesterday?

Best Picture:

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Leading Role:

Jeff Bridges: Crazy Heart
George Clooney: Up in the Air
Colin Firth: A Single Man
Morgan Freeman: Invictus
Jeremy Renner: The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Supporting Role:

Matt Damon: Invictus
Woody Harrelson: The Messenger
Christopher Plummer: The Last Station
Stanley Tucci: The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz: Inglorious Basterds

Actress in a Leading Role:

Sandra Bullock: The Blind Side
Helen Mirren: The Last Station
Carey Mulligan: An Education
Gabourey Sidibe: Precious
Meryl Streep: Julie and Julia

Actress in a Supporting Role:

Penelope Cruz: Nine
Vera Farmiga: Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal: Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick: Up in the Air
Mo’Nique: Precious

Animated Feature Film:

Coraline: Henry Selick
Fantastic Mr. Fox: Wes Anderson
The Princess and the Frog: John Musker and Ron Clements
The Secret of Kells: Tomm Moore
Up: Pete Doctor

Art Direction:

Avatar: Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg
Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus: Dave Warren, Anastasia Masaro
Set Decoration: Caroline Smith

Nine: John Myhre
Set Decoration: Gordon Sim

Sherlock Holmes: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

The Young Victoria: Patrice Vermette
Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Cinematography:

Avatar: Mauro Fiore
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Bruno Delbonnel
The Hurt Locker: Barry Ackroyd
Inglorious Basterds: Robert Richardson
The White Ribbon: Christian Berger

Directing:

Avatar: James Cameron
The Hurt Locker: Kathryn Bigelow
Inglorious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino
Precious: Lee Daniels
Up in the Air: Jason Reitman

Documentary Feature:

Burma V J: Anders Ostergaard, Lise Lense-Moller
The Cove: TBA
Food, Inc.: Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsburg and the Pentagon Papers:
Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith
Which Way Home: Rebecca Cammisa

Music (Original Song):

The Princess and the Frog: Almost There- Randy Newman
The Princess and the Frog: Down in New Orleans- Randy Newman
Paris 36: Loin de Paname- Reinhardt Wagner, Frank Thomas
Nine: Take It All-Maury Yeston
Crazy Heart: The Weary King (Theme from Crazy Heart)- Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett

I’m sure the Oscars will be quite interesting this time around. It’s certainly a huge year for James Cameron and his hit film Avatar that many say is neck-in-neck with The Hurt Locker. This was a daring investment for Cameron that turned out to be more than profitable. I think that Isabelle Fuhrman of the film Orphan was completely ripped off and at least deserved a nomination.  Sabourey Sidibe is the new star who immediately made headlines in entertainment news when the film Precious was released. Tyler Perry and Oprah both collaborated on this film so you know it has to be good. Quentin Tarantino, one my all time favorite directors, is up for an Oscar this year. I was psyched to hear the news but he’s against some tough competition so we’ll see what happens on the big night! Sandra Bullock is the first actor ever to be nominated for an Oscar and a Razzy award at the same time. She’s up for a Razzie for her performance in All About Steve! 

Check out the Oscars with Dish Network for a great few hours of fun-filled entertainment March 7th at 8 EST/5 pm Pacific on ABC!

NFL NEWS

The AFC was able to outscore the NFC for a 41-34 final in Sunday nights NFL Pro Bowl game at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. The games MVP went to Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub who finished the game 13-17 189 yards and two touchdowns with the first touchdown going to Texans teammate Andre Johnson. This was the first time the game has not been held in Hawaii since 1980 where it will return next year.

NFL ALL DECADE TEAM

OFFENSE
Quarterback -- Tom Brady, Peyton Manning
Running Backs -- Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James, LaDainian Tomlinson
Offensive Tackles -- Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace, Willie Roaf
Guards -- Larry Allen, p-Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, Will Shields
Fullback -- Lorenzo Neal
Tight Ends -- Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez
Wide Receivers -- Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens
Centers -- Olin Kreutz, Kevin Mawae
Head Coaches -- Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy.
DEFENSE
Ends -- Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers, Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor
Cornerbacks -- Ronde Barber, Champ Bailey, Ty Law, Charles Woodson
Linebackers- Derrick Brooks, Ray Lewis, Joey Porter, Zach Thomas, Brian Urlacher, DeMarcus Ware
Tackles -- La'Roi Glover, Warren Sapp, Richard Seymour, Kevin Williams
Safeties -- Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Darren Sharper
SPECIALISTS
Punters -- Shane Lechler, Brian Moorman
Kickers -- David Akers, Adam Vinatieri
Punt Returners -- Dante Hall, Devin Hester
Kick Returners -- Josh Cribbs, Dante Hall

NBA NEWS

Kobe Bryant just became the LA Lakers all time leading scorer last night in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies 95-93. Bryant 44 points last night gave him 25,208 career points and he is now currently 16 points ahead of Jerry West who was the Franchise leader.

NBA GAMES TODAY

7:00 PM ET Memphis at Cleveland Fox South - Tenn Fox Sports Ohio - High Def
7:00 PM ET Toronto at Indiana The SCORE national television FOX MIDW
7:00 PM ET Milwaukee at Orlando FSN North - Wisconsin HD Fox Sports Florida
7:30 PM ET Detroit at New Jersey Fox Sports Detroit YES
8:00 PM ET LA Clippers at Chicago FSN Prime Ticket Comcast Sports Chicago
8:00 PM ET Atlanta at Oklahoma City Fox Sports South FSOKHD
8:30 PM ET Golden State at Houston CSNBayHD Fox Sports Net Houston

NBA GAMES FROM 2/1/10

Boston 99, Washington 88
Milwaukee 97, Miami 81
Phoenix 109, New Orleans 100
Memphis 95, LA Lakers 93
Denver 112, Sacramento 109 (OT)
Utah 104, Dallas 92
Portland 98, Charlotte 79

NCAA MENS TOP 25 BASKETBALL GAMES ON TODAY

7:00 PM ET Seton Hall at (2) Villanova ESPNU
7:00 PM ET Mississippi at (3) Kentucky ESPN
7:00 PM ET Providence at (4) Syracuse ESPN FULL COURT
9:00 PM ET (5) Michigan State at (16) Wisconsin ESPN
8:00 PM ET (11) Kansas State at Nebraska ESPN FULL COURT
9:00 PM ET TCU at (12) Brigham Young
TOP 25 GAMES FROM 2/1/10
10) Texas 72, Oklahoma State 60

TOP 25 RANKINGS

1. Kansas (26) 20-1
2. Villanova (4) 19-1
3. Kentucky (1) 20-1
4. Syracuse 21-1
5. Michigan State 19-3
6. West Virginia 17-3
7. Purdue 18-3
8. Georgetown 16-4
9. Duke 17-4
10. Texas 18-3
11. Kansas State 17-4
12. Brigham Young 21-2
13. Gonzaga 17-4
14. Tennessee 16-4
15. Butler 18-4
16. Wisconsin 16-5
17. Temple 18-4
18. Ohio State 16-6
19. Georgia Tech 16-5
20. Vanderbilt 16-4
21. Pittsburgh 16-5
22. Northern Iowa 19-2
23. New Mexico 20-3
24. Baylor 16-4
25. Cornell 18-3

NHL NEWS

Just when the Buffalo Sabres thought their two-goal lead was enough to Hold of the Pittsburgh Penguins last night going into the 2nd period boy were they wrong. In less then eight minutes Penguins Sidney Crosby was able to pull off a hat trick and give his team the lead as they held on to win 5-4.

NHL GAMES ON TODAY

7:00 PM ET Washington at Boston NESN
7:00 PM ET New Jersey at Toronto RSNO
7:00 PM ET Tampa Bay at Atlanta TSO
7:30 PM ET Vancouver at Montreal RDS
8:00 PM ET Minnesota at Dallas Versus
8:00 PM ET Phoenix at Nashville
9:00 PM ET Columbus at Colorado ALTI
10:30 PM ET NY Rangers at Los Angeles FOX WEST
10:30 PM ET Detroit at San Jose

NHL SCORES FROM 2/1/10

Pittsburgh 5, Buffalo 4
Anaheim 3, Florida 0
Philadelphia 3, Calgary 0
Edmonton 4, Carolina 2

BOXING NEWS

This would have been one of the top boxing rematches of all time ten years ago but now it’s just two boxers trying to hold on too their glory days. Boxing greats 45 year old Bernard Hopkins (50-5-1 with 32 knockouts) will be taking on 41 year old Roy Jones Jr (54-6 with 40 knockouts) in Vegas on April 3rd. The two last fought in 1993 with Jones wining by a unanimous decision.
read more »

One of the many reasons I enjoy having

premium channels is for the fact that there are dull weeks at the video store when very few interesting movies have been released. I love the whole video store experience of searching for hidden treasures through all of the selections but sometimes you just want built-in entertainment that's ready to go. I rented three movies on Saturday. I have the unlimited pass that allows you to have two movies out at a time and swap them for another two whenever you’re ready. This deal isn’t too shabby since I was already spending at least $40.00 per month on movies. The deal saves me $10.00 per month and I rent movies that I wouldn’t normally rent above and beyond those that capture my interest. I rented Amores Perros, The Donner Party and a Care Bears movie for my daughter.

I was inspired to check out Amores Perros after watching another film written by Guillermo Arriaga titled The Burning Plain. I was psyched after a busy day to finally settle down and do what I enjoy most (aside from painting)- watch a movie! I assumed that Amores Perros couldn’t be bad after seeing a few of Arriaga’s films, not to mention the fact that it won 52 awards. I put the movie into the DVD player with great anticipation. I absolutely loved the opening scene that was filled with suspense, great directing and wonderful acting. I knew I was in for a treat and one heck of a ride with this drama so I curled up in a ball on my couch prepared to be entertained. Sure enough, the movie skipped. It stopped in time for me to catch about 10 minutes worth before it started skipping again and wouldn’t stop. I tried my best to clean the DVD but it was scratched beyond belief so I had no chance of checking out this great film!

I decided to pop in the next movie I rented even though I wasn’t half as excited about it. Word of warning, do not rent The Donner Party. The movie started out ¾ of the way into where it should have been. This was based on a true story of people who were trapped in snow filled mountains who resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. Sounds freaky and exciting, right? Not really. It started with the characters already trapped on the mountain and finding out that the search party would not be coming. There was limited food so the characters started fighting about the rations they would eat and who would be entitled to get more than the others. Mind you, we still don’t truly know anything about the characters to really be drawn into the movie or empathize with their situation. I shut the movie off 15 minutes in, thinking that the director had to want the movie to bomb for it to be made that poorly. I think I speak for many movie fans that if you watch a film that should be suspenseful or, at the very least, dramatic that we want a story leading up to the main plot. We want to know the characters before they wander into harm’s way so we actually become concerned about what might happen! I’m usually one to give every film an honest shot. I would at least give it 30-45 minutes before calling it a wash but I felt like I was watching a stage play on DVD and I couldn’t imagine it getting much better. By the way, the Care Bears movie was not compatible with my DVD player. Huh?

I went back to the store the next day to see if I could rent another copy of Amores Perros but they didn’t have one! I went with my last resort, Saw VI. I couldn’t imagine number six being any different than the other sequels but I took the chance of being slightly entertained and prepared for the possibility that I might end up shutting it off. I watched the whole movie and was pleasantly surprised at the fact that it had a decent plot for a fifth sequel. There was a fair share of gore that was to be expected but the director also took us outside of the dark torture room where the most of the Saw movies take place. We had the chance to have a better background on the characters so it made the story more interesting than expected. The previous Saw movies didn’t delve too deep into the characters but gave us a quick explanation of why they were captured and focused on the torture aspect and the possibility of escape. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. Don’t get me wrong, this film will certainly not win any awards but it wasn’t the worst film I’ve seen and it made for a decent backup! I look forward to getting my hands on Amores Perros this coming weekend so I can enjoy it in its entirety and I’ll let you know how it works out. The following is a list of great movies that can be found on Dish Network’s premium channels from tonight to Thursday night, February 4th. You can feel free to check out these movies without having to change the channel or worry about a scratched disc ruining your DVD player!

Tonight's Movie Pick 2/2/10

Towelhead 9p.m. on HBO Signature

Wednesday's Movie 2/3/10

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? 8:00 p.m. on Showtime Showcase

Thursday's Movie 2/4/10

Last Chance Harvey 10:00 p.m. on Starz Cinema

Enjoy! read more »