Author: Al Daniel
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School of Rock holds up by sticking to serious fun
Dewey Finn (Jack Black) does not need Horace Green Prep as much as the other way around. How quickly School of Rock establishes that twist is as refreshing as it is perplexing. Dewey is simply engrossed in his music-oriented dream, to a point where he exasperates others. Because of that, his saga is little more…
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Maine hockey in 15th year as a key cog for MAAV
For members of the University of Maine’s Male Athletes Against Violence (MAAV) initiative, numbers stick like preseason statistics. That is if the experience of its two most recent hockey ambassadors is any indication. “I can’t remember many specifics,” junior Chase Pearson told Pucks and Recreation. “But I know they shocked me enough to really get…
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Top 10 TGIF shows from its first two eras
Fresh Off the Boat is the logical favorite to make the third go-round of ABC’s TGIF resemble the block’s original run. Defying the dreaded “Friday night death slot” throughout the 1990s and two bookending half-years, the first TGIF coincided with slews of Young Artist nominations and wins. Some series from that run and a brief…
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10 best Troy McClure films and TV appearances
Did Troy McClure, along with other Phil Hartman characters, make a crucial difference in The Simpsons’ peak years? If nothing else, Hartman gave a solid series a delectable extra layer of entertainment value. Hartman, who died under horrific circumstances shortly after the ninth season, would have turned 70 this Monday. That melancholy milestone can spawn…
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Forgetting Sarah Marshall keeps getting better
The masterminds behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall can take delayed secondhand satisfaction in Bill Hader’s Emmy triumph. The co-creator and title player on HBO’s Barry, Hader was named outstanding lead actor in a comedy series Monday night. It was his first solo Primetime Emmy victory and first for a live-action performance. (He previously shared in South…
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10 best Rocko’s Modern Life episodes
For any full-fledged American ’90s kid, 2009’s The Proposal evokes two second-season Rocko’s Modern Life episodes. The unrelated movie title matches an Ed Bighead line, which he follows with a classic scream. Later on, another plot fundamentally resembles that of the Sandra Bullock vehicle 15 years in advance. Granted, it takes some stretched-out thought or brimful…
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Teaching moments abound for Neumann
Kelsey Neumann knows all about playing backup and paying one’s dues. The Les Canadiennes de Montreal draftee played one period of intercollegiate Division I hockey. On Groundhog Day 2010, her Clarkson Golden Knights made a simple drive down the road to St. Lawrence. There she gave junior goaltender Lauren Dahm her only night off of…
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Best actor from every EIHL city (Part II)
Editor’s note: This is the second half of our series selecting the most successful contemporary actor from each EIHL city. Last week’s look at the cities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales can be found here. All filmography and award information is according to the Internet Movie Database. Coventry: Alice Lowe As both co-screenwriter and…
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Pro Beach Hockey, we barely knew ye
For the moment, Pro Beach Hockey still has two years on the XFL’s lifespan. In late January 2018, WWE’s fizzled football offshoot was greenlit to join entertainment’s rash of reboots. After lasting a single campaign on its first try in 2001, the XFL is slated for another go-round starting in 2020. Notably, as ESPN’s Darren…
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Common threads between Anchorman 2 and D2
Wasn’t it Anchorman 2 where someone told the protagonist, “Everyone wants to be something bigger”? No, that was Don Tibbles speaking to Gordon Bombay in Mighty Ducks 2. But if Freddie Shapp had said the same to Ron Burgundy, the line would have fit just as well. That common thread between the Anchorman and Mighty…