'30 Rock', 'Mad Men': win at another boring awards night for the Emmys

Excluded on the winners list of Emmy Night were Jon Hamm for 'Mad Men' and Tina Fey for '30 Rock'

Courtesy Photo

Another year, another same old Emmy Awards. The only twist this year was the energetic brilliance of Neal Patrick Harris. The new "King of Award Shows" hosted the Tony Awards in May and the Emmy Awards last night with both stints receiving rave reviews. Will the Grammys or Oscars be next for NPH? We'll see but the story of the night to me was the boring, ho-hum giving out of awards to annual winners "Mad Men" and "30 Rock." Seriously, are these shows REALLY that good? Even the best shows on TV have had dry spells in winning awards because every season was not spectacular. Do you remember "Seinfeld" winning every year? No, that's because it never happened!

What has ended up happening is all these so-called voters nominating the shows they think America likes and running with that. Shows like "Dexter" get shut out every year because the Emmys keep giving the award to one show. Other shows like "Friday Night Lights," "True Blood," or "Battlestar Galactica" aren't even nominated when they are some of the best on TV. The Emmys are getting to be just like the Grammy awards. They are so out of touch with American television.

So will "30 Rock" make it 4 in a row next season? How about "Mad Men" winning its 3rd straight award? If the Emmys keep in the direction they're going, it will happen and the ratings for their precious awards show will drop like a rock.

Major Winners:

* Best Drama - "Mad Men" (2nd year in a row)

* Best Comedy - "30 Rock" (3rd year in a row)

* Best Dramatic Actor - Bryan Cranston "Breaking Bad" (2nd year in a row)

* Best Dramatic Actress - Glenn Close "Damages" (2nd year in a row)

* Best Dramatc Supporting Actor - Michael Emerson "Lost"

*Best Dramatic Supporting Actress - Cherry Jones "24"

* Best Comedic Actor - Alec Baldwin "30 Rock" (3rd year in a row)

* Best Comedic Actress - Toni Collette "The United States of Tara"

*Best Comedic Supporting Actor - Jon Cryer "Two and a Half Men"

*Best Comedic Supporting Actress - Kristin Chenoweth "Pushing Daisies"

* Best Variety, Music or Comedy Series: "The Daily Show" (7th year in a row)

* Best Reality Show: "The Amazing Race" (7th year in a row)

College Football: Week 3

The first two weeks of College Football have been shocking to say the least (Courtesy Photo)

Two weeks of College Football are in the books. What do we know?

• Ohio State still chokes in the big games
• Notre Dame got punched in the mouth by a hungry Michigan team
• Lou Holtz can not predict the National Championship
• That Oklahoma State was a pretender from the start. So why did Georgia lose to them?
  

This week brings some intriguing matchups starting with the Thursday night game. Let's predict some of Week 3's action:

THURSDAY, 9/17 - (14) GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (2-0) Vs. (20) MIAMI HURRICANES (1-0)
Analysis: Georgia Tech has been more lucky than good the past two weeks with wins that should have been guaranteed. Last week Vs. Clemson, the Jackets nearly had a monumental collapse but survived thanks to 3 field goals in the second half. Miami has been solid after coming off their shocking defeat of Florida State. This game will be fun to watch...until Georgia Tech eats it in the 2nd half.

Score: Miami 35 Georgia Tech 17

FRIDAY, 9/18 - (10) BOISE STATE VS. FRESNO STATE

Analysis: Boise State has been really solid so far this season. A balanced running and passing attack makes them a dangerous opponent. Coming off two huge victories, the Broncos are in the top 10 and looking to upset the BCS tea party. Although Fresno State should be a good test, the Broncos roll in this one.

Score: Boise State 42 Fresno State 13

SATURDAY 9/19 GAMES TO WATCH

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (1-1) VS. (1) FLORIDA GATORS (2-0)

Analysis: There isn't much of an analysis to this one. Tennessee lost 19-10 to a weak UCLA team last week to crush the surgence of hope in their season.Tennessee is gonna lose but by how much depends on them. The only thing that would make Tennessee even have a chance is something happening to Tim Tebow (and that's not bloody likely!)

Score: Florida 56 Tennessee 10

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (2-0) VS. (2) TEXAS LONGHORNS (2-0)

Analysis: Last year, Colt McCoy drove down the field and gave Texas the lead in Lubbock with just under a minute left. Then the unthinkable: Michael Crabtree catching the amazing touchdown to shock the Longhorns and send McCoy and his teammates out of the national title game. This time it's personal. Although the Red Raiders have put up impressive numbers so far, it has been against North Dakota and Rice. I see the Longhorns exacting revenge and keeping the National Championship train on track.

Score: Texas 42 Texas Tech 24

FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (1-1) VS. (7) BYU COUGARS (2-0)

Ananysis: After shocking Oklahoma in week 1 (largely in part to Sam Bradford getting injured), the Cougars are looking forward. The Seminoles however are trying to figure out what has gone wrong. After losing their opener to Miami, Florida State nearly did the unthinkable: lose to a subdivision team. With 35 seconds to go, Florida State scored to put themselves ahead 12-9 then a fumble recovery sealed the game 19-9. With the way the Cougars are playing and having a 19-game winning streak at home, the Seminoles got a lot of searching to do.

Score: BYU 38 Florida State 17

(19) NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (2-0) VS. (13) VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (1-1)

Analysis: The Cornhuskers are looking good as they roll into a volatile Blacksburg to take on the Hokies. This game should be a good one as the Hokies have a swagger in their step after defeating Marshall 52-10. Should be a fun one to watch. I smell an upset....

Score: Nebraska 24 Virginia Tech 17

(23) GEORGIA BULLDOGS (1-1) VS. ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS (1-0)

Analysis: The Georgia Bulldogs have a statement game this week. After an opening game loss to Oklahoma State (who then lost to Houston last week), the Dawgs need a solid game to show everyone they can play. After last weeks 41-37 thriller in Athens, the defense needs to step it up and not allow the 400 + yards they did last week. As for the offense, keep on scoring and run the football. They need a 100-yard rusher badly this week. As for the Razorbacks, they bring new QB Ryan Mallett, a transfer from Michigan, and a mediocre running attack. If they're one dimensional, Georgia should be able to control. All in all, a statement game for the victor.

Score: Georgia 38 Arkansas 24

UNRANKED SPECIAL! NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (1-1) VS. MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (1-1)

Analysis: In another statement game, both the Irish and Spartans are coming off shocking defeats. The Spartans came down with "LaFevour" as Central Michigan pulled off the shocking 29-27 win. The Irish lost a tough battle at Michigan to dash any hopes of a National Title run. Both teams have something to prove but I think the Irish win this one.

Score: Notre Dame 28 Michigan State 17

That's it for predictions this week. Check back next week as we take a look at more exciting football coming your way!

September 11: 8 Years Later

We will never forget September 11, 2001. Here, the skyline of NYC has two beams of light commemorating where the buildings of the World Trade Center once stood.

We all remember where we were September 11, 2001. Here's what I remember as vivid as it was yesterday:

I was in my second year of college, living at home with my parents and brothers. My first class of the day was at 10 a.m. I got up around 8:30 a.m. to shower and get ready to start what was a normal Tuesday. As I got out of the shower to go get dressed, I saw on T.V. that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. Early reports were a small aircraft had hit and there was no reason for panic. A few minutes later, a second plane crashed in the south tower causing a massive ball of fire. The "no reason" turned into panic as our country was now under attack. Shortly after, a plane had reportedly hit the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. and a plane had crashed in Pennsylvania that was headed for the White House or the Capitol. The world was now in a state of chaos.

Not knowing what to do as I watched the towers fall one by one, I got in my car and drove to class. When I got to my first class on campus, people were just learning of the terrible events unfolding. I had to bring some classmates up to speed that had been in class during the attacks unfolding on T.V. No one was focused to learn. After class was over, the college was shut down and everyone was told to go home. Driving back was really eery was the highways were clear and cell phones were jammed with loved ones trying to make sense of what had happened.

Lately there have been a lot of celebrities and people saying the attacks were "U.S. made," such as Charlie Sheen. The people who have loved ones lost are probably not appreciative of these crack pot theories. Sure President George W. Bush was a terrible president but he would not harm Americans just to further his agenda. That's something a leader like Hitler would do. What these people need to do is stop the madness and accept that the attacks happened.

It has been 8 years since the attacks and the memories are still fresh in my mind. Americans should NEVER FORGET what happened that day. It showed that America, no matter how great a country it is, is vulnerable if we do not guard it to keep it safe. It doesn't mean we get paranoid and blame every Indian, Muslim, or people of different ethnicities (remember Timothy McVeigh?) As Americans, we need to heal once more. Keep a vigilant watch over our security and honor those who lost their lives on such a tragic day. Kids who weren't old enough at the time need to be taught about how America came together in our darkest hour. Remember this day.

Hope the victims and their families find peace.

Recommended Programming:

• World Trade Center (PG-13) Directed by Oliver Stone
• Flight 93 (PG-13) Directed by Paul Greenglass
• Special Programming on any news channel, National Geographic and Discovery