It’s not that I hold an extremely high opinion of myself, or that I think my opinions are better than yours — I’m just noting that we’re entering the summer blockbuster movie season, and how will you know which movies to go see, if I don’t tell you?

So here’s my list of four must-see movies (and some honorable mention movies), listed by release date starting with the earliest:

Speed Racer, May 9 – I used to run to Kindergarten and first grade humming and singing the theme song. Need I say more?

Indiana Jones and the Kingdome of the Crystal Skull, May 22 – Shia LaBouf doesn’t mean anything to me, but Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielburg sure do.

Wall-E, June 27 – Not so much for me, as it is for my 6-year-old daughter. If I didn’t put this on my list (and maybe even after I included it), I have a sneaking suspision that on opening day of this move, she’ll drug me and drag me to the theater. It’s also a Pixar picture. They do good things.

The Dark Night, July 18 – This one escaped my super-hero rule (see below). This was one of Heath Ledger’s final movies (I think he did one in England days before he flew back to New York and died). If Ledger’s performance as the Joker is as good as many say it is, he’s a shoe-in for an Oscar. It will also be interesting to see how the filmmakers deal with his real-life death. He was already written into at least the third Batman movie, so will they kill the character off (you know what I mean, don’t look at me that way), or simply hire someone in his place? My money (couple of bucks and some change) says they write him out. Death, or a life sentence in Arkham assylam maybe?

Superhero movie rule:
Of course there were super-hero movies before, but since the release and brain-numbing success of Spiderman in 2002, the web-slinger gave birth to a slew of decent, but unimpresive super-hero flicks in the past six years: Spiderman 2, Spiderman 3, X-Men, X-Men 2, X-Men 3, Wolverine (in production), The Fantastic Four, The Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Superman, Daredevil, Elektra, Wonder Woman (in production), Kazam (in production), Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Hulk (not the one opening this summer), The Incredable Hulk (the one opening this summer), Catwoman and in an ironic twist, a comedy called “Superhero Movie” brought to you by the writers of the “Scary Movie” movies.

I know there are others, but these are the examples I could think of right now.

Long story short — Superhero movies are real, and they are also fun, but their not funny, really. And that’s why Iron Man and others on this list didn’t crack my Top 5, with the exception of “The Dark Knight” (see above).

Honorable mention: You should add, “… but I still kind of want to see it,” after every explanation below.

Iron Man, Already out – My primary reason for wanting to see this movie is to try to assess weather or not Robert Downey Jr. stayed sober during the making of the film. Also, see Superhero movie rule above.

The Cronocles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, May 16 – I didn’t see the first one, I kind of want to see this one, but I’ll probably regret it about half-way through.

The Incredable Hulk, June 13 — See Superhero movie rule above.

The Happening, June 13 – M. Knight Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village etc. …) could probably perform a puppet show, and it would captivate the entire country, while raking in a fortune at the box office, but it would probably be revealed by the end of the movie, that one of the puppets was a sock in a former life, and not only that, but it was the left sock of the very person who created all of the puppets performing on stage. And what’s worse, still, is that the puppet creator is in the crowd watching the puppet show. Weird, huh? And we’ll never see it coming.

Get Smart, June 20 – Steve Correll is funny and Anne Hathaway is hot.

The Mummy 3, August 1 – This one applies to my superhero movie rule, even though it’s not a superhero movie.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars, August 15 – Animated Star Wars movie dropped on us to milk every last cent out of Star Wars nerds. And they’re not done taking all of our money yet!

So there it is. Four movies I’ve just gotta see in the next several months, and seven movies I’ll see if I trip and bump my head hard outside of a movie theater and forget where I Iive.

What do you all think? What are your must-see movies this summer?

I won’t be writing very many movie reviews, but I saw a movie last night that I just have to comment about.

The movie is called “Cloverfield”. It’s a modern day monster movie — plain and simple.

Think of it this way: “Blair Witch Project” meets “Independence Day”.

The movie (which clocked in at just over 80 minutes) was scary and entertaining — even if some of the diologue was horrid.

Here’s an example of some of the worst of the movie:

Man #1 — “What time did they say they were going to pick us up again?”

Man #2 — “0600 hours.”

Man #1 — “What time is that?”

Yeah, the diologue was  that bad at times, but it was still an entertaining movie.

Don’t watch it with your kids, and turn out all the lights and that should make for a good ’scary movie’ experience.

On this early Spring day, the grass is getting longer and greener, football fanatics have (nearly) cried every last drop of sadness from their soul, the world’s most important bunny is prepping for his big day … and everyone with a decent heart beat and red blood running through their veins are obsessing over words like brackets, Cindarella, Winthrop, sweet … and madness!

And it’s also about this time when somewhat passive, casual sports fans pretend they know things that they don’t really know. Like why Xavier continues to press in the back-court when several teams have beaten that defensive strategy by getting the ball down the floor in a hurry and drawing fouls in the paint.

You’re also likely to see more than a few odd pieces of paper floating around your home or office containing strange lines, words and numbers.

The reason for these unavoidable, ubiquitous signs is simple. 65 (64 as of late Tuesday night) of college basketball’s best have been summoned to crown a champion.

The annual event has so captured the hearts of millions of Americans, that the NCAA probably doesn’t need my help (They won’t return my calls and it seems I’ve recently been served with a restraining order).

But just because you have a formula that works perfectly, doesn’t mean you can’t improve things. In other words: If it ain’t broke, why not break it on purpose and put it back together again?

And it’s with that in mind, that I offer two interesting suggestions. 

I think it was Confucius who said, “If some is good, more is better.” (I’m paraphrasing). And these two ideas follow that model.

1) Add three more teams to the tournament.

Several years ago, the tournament underwent a significant change. The two lowest teams seeded in the 65-team field play each early in the week, and the winner gets to lose to the highest seeded team (this year, the honor goes to Mount Saint Mary’s, who gets to run the TarHeels through a glorified practice session).

It gives one extra team, usually a Division-I conference tournament champion from an obscure conference, a chance to see the number one team in the country dish out a heavy dose of pain from the best seats in the house.

Here’s where my first suggestion could improve things: How about installing this ‘play-in game’ in each of the four regions? This would serve to increase the number of teams who get to play for a national championship (… I just made myself laugh). 68 squads would get to play on college baskeball’s biggest stage.

It also wouldn’t require much (if any) changes to the tournament format. All four ‘play-in games’ would be played just as it is right now; the Tuesday night before the brackets officially get underway on Thursday morning.

Also, more games = more money for the NCAA and for the schools themselves. This is a point we’ll revisit.

2) Double elimination should kick in at the Sweet 16 mark.

In its current form, the tournament boasts a single-elimination format.

How about keep the first and second rounds of the tournament as it is now -single-elimination, while re-seeding and playing the Sweet 16 as a standard double-elimination event?

Switching to double-elimination in the Sweet 16 would increase the total number of games played from 63, to a number that approaches 70, and it wouldn’t add too much more time to the entire course of the tournament. (I think there’s math involved here.)

… and again, more games means more money for everyone involved (except maybe the broke fans).

The only downside I see to this option is that we would almost certainly see fewer true ‘underdogs’ advance deep into the tournament: A 13- or 14-seed may outplay their higher-seeded competition once, but they’re less likely to keep doing it game-after-game. And we all love underdogs.

Those are two quick and easy suggestions.

I know fully well that the NCAA tournament needs no changes, it’s already one of the most anticipated sporting events every year, but I think these measures would be fun to see play out.

After all, if some is good - more is better, right?

The Associated Press recently reported that traces of a vast array of pharmaceuticals — including mood stabilizers, sex hormones and anti-anxiety medications were found in the water supply of at least 41 million Americans.

On a somewhat related note, I plan on drinking much more tap water — just in case.

First-year Lady Rams head coach Clay Stout had big shoes to fill in Portales  this season — big shoes. We’re talking Shaq size shoes, and according to my source (Wikipedia) those are size 23 shoes.

In her 22 years as the Portales girls basketball coach, Brenda Gomez collected five state championship titles and led the Lady Rams to seven consecutive Class 3A state championship games. In the last 30 years, the Portales girls have won 27 district championships. That’s a legacy, and that’s what Clay Stout walked into over the summer.

In his first year as the Portales girls coach, he led the Lady Rams to a District 4-3A championship, going undefeated in their district schedule. He also led them to a state tournament first round blow-out win against West Las Vegas — a game that saw Portales lose their leading scorer, junior point guard Tara Johnson to a severe right knee injury.

The Lady Rams lost their state quarterfinal game against Santa Fe Indian School and according to all reports, the Lady Braves felt slighted by  their 10-seed in the state playoffs. They were looking to make a statement, and the Lady Rams were looking to merely survive.

Portales is losing two starters and a couple of role players to graduation; forwards Bethany Self and Vicki Huber, as well as Tessa Bryant and Jordan Roehl.

If Johnson can be healthy for next season, a core group of Lady Rams will return, including defensive wizard Dallas Russell and sophomore scorer Jenna Wagner.

I expect Stout’s calming, protective  nature to nurture the Lady Rams into a team that once again competes for a state championship in the near future.

It’s shocking to see an NCAA Division II basketball team take the court with six players suited up.

It’s awesome to see them compete - even outplay the 17th-ranked team in the nation.

Yet, that’s exactly what happened Wednesday night at Greyhound Arena against highly-ranked Tarleton State University.

The Texans had won 13 consecutive games. Tarleton State beat Div-I Baylor University earlier this season, and lost by just 9 points against Div-I 18th-ranked Texas A&M at College Station. The Texans will likely make the NCAA Div-II tournament, and they could win it.

Through injuries and just plain bad luck, the Eastern New Mexico men’s basketball team is down to seven players - on a good night.

Wednesday was not one of those good nights, as the Hounds took the floor without junior guard Marquis Ruffin who was sick with the flu.

Six players?!? The Greyhounds took the floor against the 17th-ranked team in the country with six players?

Yes.

And they could have won too.

The Hounds took a quick 9-0 lead, then expanded their lead to 13-3 and they led at the half 34-27.

But the Texans took control of the game with a second-half 26-6 run on the way to a 10-point victory.

The Texans won their 14th straight game of the year, but you wouldn’t know it from the sound of Tarleton State’s head coach Lonn Reisman’s profanity-laced post-game ‘chat’ with his team.

After Saturday’s home loss against Texas A&M University-Kingsville, the Greyhounds have a handful of games left on their schedule, including two home games.

Don’t be at all surprised if you feel a sense of shock when you see six or seven Hounds hit the floor - and don’t for a minute get surprised when the shock is replaced with an overwelming sense of Awe when you see what they can do.

Initial thoughts moments after Super Bowl XLII

1. In my mind there is no question: The Giants win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII was easily the greatest Super Bowl in history. I welcome any and all arguments.

2. The 2007-2008 Patriots should still be considered one of the greatest teams in football history, but I guess we don’t have to worry about spygate tarnishing the Patriots Super Bowl title.

3. Eli Manning absolutely deserved the MVP award, but the Giants defensive line and the constant pressure they put on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the reason that Eli had a chance to make magic at the end. Isn’t Eli Manning exactly the kind of guy you love to see win a game like that?

4. After winning back-to-back Super Bowl MVP awards, the Manning brothers can charge whatever they want for their offseason quarterback camp. (Will Cooper win next year’s Super Bowl MVP?)

5. The 1972 Miami Dolphins have several thank-you notes to send out.

6. I can’t believe I rooted as hard as I did for a team not called the Dallas Cowboys.

In what comes as no surprise to those of us who follow his career, Sylvester Stallone admitted in the Feb. 4 issue of Time magazine that he used HGH (Human growth hormone) to shape up for his latest Rambo movie.

In the article, the 61-year-old action star defends his use of the hormone and invited his fellow baby boomers to investigate the drug.

Human growth hormone is a natural occurring hormone produced by our pituitary gland and released to our bodies during sleep. It helps to lengthen our bones and to increase the thickness of soft tissues like skin.

Over the many years since it has been mass produced, HGH has helped many children reach their full growth potential

In recent years some have also found other benefits to the substance, like increased muscle mass, decreased body fat and thickened skin.

Not much is known about the risks and rewards of human growth hormone. There are recent studies that tell us it could cause joint damage, arthritis, even diabetes has been linked to the hormone. But until we have an honest discussion about it in the open, we won’t be any closer to the truth.

Since HGH is difficult to detect with modern tests, it has also become today’s performance enhancer of choice among professional athletes, many of whom are scheduled to testify before congress in February — chief among them, one of baseball’s greatest pitchers ever, Roger Clemens.

Stallone’s admission and subsequent endorsement of the hormone is a good thing. It serves to propel the debate into real and meaningful discussion.

Baseball (and other sports) have banned the enhancer because it gives the players who use it an advantage over those who don’t.

But actors, like Stallone, shouldn’t be held to the same standard. Stallone doesn’t compete against others on a “level playing-field”. He simply uses HGH to aid him in his art (I understand that some would argue that what he does could be considered art, it certainly IS in the eye of the beholder).

We are sure to hear from medical experts in the coming months about the pros and cons of HGH — a substance that may bring baseball legend Roger Clemens down, but it brought Rocky and Rambo back to us, and that is a good thing.

I spoke to a Cowboys fan the other day at a Portales Ram basketball game. This guy was an old-timer, and he said he’ll never forgive Jerry Jones for the manner in which he promptly discarded legendary coach Tom Landry after buying the team in the late ’80’s — and there are many who feel the same way.

Jones fired Landry, the only coach the Cowboys ever knew, after 29 years of coaching “America’s Team” to bring his college buddy — the boastful and brash coach of the University of Miami Hurricanes Jimmy Johnson to the position.

There are also many longtime Cowboy fans and newcomers to the Cowboys bandwagon who will never forget that Jones brought three Super Bowl titles to Dallas — and he brought all three of those titles within seven years of owning the team.

It’s that very take-no-prisoners quality of Jones, a former oil man in the Arkansas and Texas oil patches, that causes him to make instant, snap decisions, often causing extreme fan anger, that he believes are in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys.

Despite recent reports, it’s also that quality of Jones that may force him to to put current Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips out to pasture sooner than later to make room for Dallas offensive coordinator and rising star Jason Garrett.

If Jones can dismiss Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry, why would he bat an eyelash at the prospect of booting Phillips — no matter that he led Dallas to an NFC best 13-3 record in his first year in the saddle.

Garrett is the reason for the maturation of Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo, and Garrett is the architect of the Cowboys NFC leading offense.

Don’t forget that Jones hired Garrett, Troy Aikman’s longtime backup, to eventually be the Cowboys head coach — he even interviewed him for that position before hiring Phillips. And now, Garrett is a hot commodity with several NFL coaching vacancies.

Sooner than you may think, Phillips may be out — and Garrett may be in, no matter how well the Cowboys do in the playoffs.

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