The Will Leitch Experience

This has definitely been one of those weeks when you want to hang onto your kids very tightly.

Here are this week’s stories:

MONDAY
The Thirty: The Most Deserving All-Star on Every Team (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
The NBA Draft Is Un-American (New York Magazine)
The Appeal of Simple Rating System (MLB.com)

THURSDAY
The Mariners’ Success Is Less Fun Without a Great Felix Hernandez (MLB.com)
Debate Club: Funniest Genre Spoofs (SYFY Wire)

FRIDAY
Book Review: “Kicks” (The Wall Street Journal)
My Friend Jami Attenberg Asked Me to Write Something For Her Fantastic, Inspirational Newsletter (10,000 Words of Summer)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

This week’s guest is Chris Nashawaty, author of “Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story.” Watch it here!

PODCASTS

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
"Incredibles 2,” “Tag” and wrapping up our Linklater series with “Before Midnight.’

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I are in a dark place.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

I know every person as they get older looks around the world and says, “it’s all going to hell.” But good lord, this week.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and remember: Kindness covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn’t always know this and am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”

Just finished watching Before Midnight again, the second time I’ve ever seen it, for the special three-part podcast Grierson and I are doing. There are times that these movies seem beamed directly from my brain, and I think what might be most brilliant and wonderful about them is that I suspect everybody who has seen them feels the exact same way. Subscribe to get the full series.

Here are this week’s stories:

MONDAY
The Thirty: The Craziest On-Pace-For Stats for Each Team (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
Who Cares How Much Money Miguel Cabrera Is Making? (MLB.com)
It Is Probably For the Best That the U.S. Missed the World Cup (New York Magazine)
Pixar Movies, Ranked (Vulture)

THURSDAY
Hey, the Padres Aren’t That Bad! (MLB.com)
Debate Club: Best Supporting Comedic Performances (SYFY Wire)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

No show this week, but some good ones coming.

PODCASTS

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
“Before Sunset,” obviously, and also “Ocean’s 8,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and the great “Hereditary.”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I have had just about enough of this Cardinals team.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and remember: All this time they are walking and talking. Down streets, through gardens, past shops, into a cafe, out of the cafe, toward the courtyard where she has the flat she has lived in for four years. And it is getting later, and the time for his flight is approaching, just as he had to catch the train in Vienna. But what is free will for, if not to defy our plans? 

My class reunion was last weekend. We had a lot more people in our class than this, but these were the only people who came. It was still a terrific time. Also if you ever get a chance to drink at Castles in Mattoon, you should do so, but only briefly, and only if you have a reliable exit strategy.

Here are this week’s pieces:

MONDAY
The Thirty: The Best Player on Every Team to Never Make an All-Star Team (MLB.com)

TUESDAY
The Case Against Instant Replay (New York Magazine)
Review: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” (Paste Magazine)

WEDNESDAY
The Last Ride of Tim Lincecum (MLB.com)

THURSDAY
What Ever Are the Mets Going to Do Now? (MLB.com)
The 25 Best Heist Films Ever (Vulture)
Debate Club: The Funniest Sci-Fi Spoofs Ever (SYFY Wire)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

No show this week. Back next week!

PODCASTS

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
Summer mailbag show, “Kindergarten Cop” and we kick off our three-part series with “Before Sunrise”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I were briefly excited.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

I’m off to Rome, Georgia, this Sunday for some minor league baseball with the boys. Have a great weekend, and remember: Suicide is a permanent solution for a temporary problem.

My 25th high school reunion is this weekend, and I’m headed back to Mattoon for it. This is a photo of me, my cousin Denny and my late grandmother, who I always assumed would outlive us all. Twenty-five years is a really long time and it is also absolutely nothing.

Here are this week’s stories:

MONDAY
The Thirty: The Lowest Drafted Player on Every MLB Team (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
The Return of the 30-30 Man (MLB.com)
Roger Goodell Is the Prototypical Trump Enabler (New York Magazine)
Debate Club: Top Superhero Spoofs (SYFY Wire)

THURSDAY
Why the NBA Finals Has a Lot More Rematches Than the World Series (MLB.com)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

This week’s guest is Sydelle Noel! She is on “G.L.O.W.”! She was in “Black Panther!” Watch it here!

PODCASTS

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
“Solo: A Star Wars Story,” and also “The Prestige.”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I grouse some more.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
New show! Georgia softball, baseball, basketball and football.

Seriously: Twenty-five years. Wait until all of Grosse Pointe learns I’m a contract killer. Have a great weekend, everyone, and remember: Now, as they passed in review, called up one by one, I saw a double image: The same person in 1960 and 2010. The same smile, the same gait, the same body language, the same eyes. I was witnessing a truth. Within our bodies of 67 or 68 years lived all the people we had ever been or seemed to be. All the success, all the defeat, all the love and fear. We were all here.

My wife turned a round number birthday on Tuesday. We’re all heading to Charleston, South Carolina to celebrate it this Memorial Day weekend. I can’t believe this person has chosen to spend her life with me and I’m unbelievably lucky. Also, this celebration can’t help but remind me of her LAST round number birthday, which we spent in Paris. This was the evening when she thought it would be funny to Pretend To Be Will, which mostly consisted of wearing a jacket that was too big, holding a pack of cigarettes in one hand and a Diet Coke in another and yelling, “I’m writin’ somethin’! Who needs me to WRITE SOMETHIN’??” She thought it was pretty funny, and it really was. I love you, Alexa. Happy round number birthday.

Here are this week’s stories:

SATURDAY
LeBron James and the Superstar Fallacy (The New York Times)

MONDAY
The Thirty: The Fastest Player on Every MLB Team (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
If the Angels Are So Fun, Why Aren’t They Better? (MLB.com)
Ron Howard Movies, Ranked (Vulture)
Debate Club: Best Re-creations of Iconic Characters (SYFY Wire)

THURSDAY
The Brewers Are Finally the Team Their Fans Deserve (MLB.com)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

This week’s guest is Keith Hernandez! He’s Keith Hernandez! Watch it here!

PODCASTS

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
“Deadpool 2,” Grierson’s Cannes experience and then a big “Amadeus” discussion.

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I grouse.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

Charleston, South Carolina is truly a great American city. Have a great weekend, and remember: Happy people are pleased by the happiness of others. The miserable are poisoned by envy. 

It’s primary week here in Georgia next week. In the last couple of years, I’ve warmed to the idea that one’s votes should be stated and publicly accountable, particularly when one works in the world of letters and opinions. Someday people will want the receipts for this era, so I am providing mine.

So: I (early) voted for:

Stacey Abrams for governor of Georgia.
Richard Dien Winfield for U.S. Representative.
Kelly Girtz for mayor of Athens.
Sarah Riggs Amico for lieutenant governor of Georgia.
Dee Dawkins-Haigler for secretary of state of Georgia.
Cindy Zeldin for commissioner of insurance of Georgia.

I have more but I know you don’t really care. Just feels like something to put in the public record. Expect this to remain a cheap Friday post for years to come.

Here are this week’s stories:

MONDAY
The Thirty: Every Team’s Most Recent No-Hitter (MLB.com)

TUESDAY
Review: “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (Medium)
I Have a Piece in the New Anthology “Upon Further Review” (Amazon)

WEDNESDAY
Matt Harvey’s Life Will Be a Lot Better Outside New York (MLB.com)
Debate Club: The Best Soundtrack Songs (SYFY Wire)

THURSDAY
Promote Vlad Jr.! (MLB.com)

FRIDAY
Review: “Deadpool 2″ (Paste Magazine)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

This week’s guest is Stephanie Beatriz, Rosa Diaz from “Brooklyn 99.” Watch it here!

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
Grierson’s in Cannes, so our talk on “Life of the Party” and “Grosse Pointe Blank” is brief, but we dig in deep on “JFK.”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I try to make sense of this weird season.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

I cut the tip of my left ring finger off making Mother’s Day breakfast last week, so I’m typing very slowly these days. It’s making me insane. Have a great weekend, and remember: It’s the movie that matters, not the original source.

Saturday is our Little League’s team’s final game of the year. I have WAY too much fun coaching this team. I’ll be writing more about this in this week’s newsletter, but I think it might be the most purely enjoyable thing I do. This is not my favorite photo of myself, however.

Here are this week’s stories:

MONDAY
The Thirty: The Longest Tenured Player on Every MLB Team (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
This Is the Year the American League’s Interleague Winning Streak Finally Ends (MLB.com)
Debate Club: Best John Williams Scores (SYFY Wire)

THURSDAY
The Dodgers Are Going To Be Just Fine (MLB.com)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

This week’s guest is Ron Livingston, of “Office Space” and “Swingers” and “Band of Brothers” and of “Tully.” Watch it here!

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
“Tully,” our summer movie preview and “American History X.”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I look back at that beautiful Cubs series.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
Tony interviews my favorite Georgia sports blogger.

I forgot the golden rule this week: Never go out drinking on a Wednesday. Have  a great weekend, and remember: I’ve known two heavy drinkers who claimed they never had hangovers. I didn’t believe them. Without hangovers, it is possible that I would still be drinking. Unemployed, unmarried, but still drinking–or, more likely, dead. Most alcoholics continue to drink as long as they can. For many, that means death. Unlike drugs in most cases, alcohol allows you to continue your addiction for what’s left of your life, barring an accident. The lucky ones find their bottom, and surrender.

Ron Livingston was one of my guests on “The Will Leitch Show” this week. (Watch the show here!) I find it fascinating how different people know him from different shows, and what that says about them. My mom knows him from “Band of Brothers;” my wife knows him from “Sex and the City;” my sister knows him from “Office Space;” my cousin knows him from “Search Party.” I think I’m probably a “Swingers” person. That seems like a good career to have: For every generation and walk of life to know you from an entirely different role. I like that.

Here are this week’s stories:

MONDAY
The Thirty: The Best Baseball Names (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
Here Come the Braves (MLB.com)
Debate Club: Best Action Scene/Music Combos (SYFY Wire)

THURSDAY
A Cardinals Fan Deals With Albert Pujols at 3,000 (MLB.com)
Charlize Theron Movies, Ranked (Vulture)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

This week’s guest is Grant Wahl, the best soccer writer in the world and the author of the new book “Masters of Modern Soccer.” Watch it here!

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
It’s the big “Avengers: Infinity War” show. Also, “True Romance.”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I look were a little Matheny fired up this week.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

Kentucky Derby weekend! Always a favorite time. Have a great weekend, and remember, I have always awarded stars in a relative, not an absolute way, based to some degree on a movie’s success in doing what it wants to do, and what the audience expects from it. Of course, if you think stars are limited, you ought to try working with thumbs.

I’ll be exploring this more in the newsletter this week, but all told? I sort of enjoy that my team’s new quarterback is the sort of guy who wears “F–k Trump” on his hat while golfing. That takes an extra level of fortitude, I think.

Here are this week’s pieces:

MONDAY
The Toughest Player to Strike Out on Every Team (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
Other Superstar Debuts in April Like Acuna’s (MLB.com)
Debate Club: Non-Superhero Characters in the Marvel Universe (SYFY Wire)

THURSDAY
This Can Still Be the Year of Adrian Beltre (MLB.com)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

No show this week. Some fun ones coming.

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
“I Feel Pretty,” “Kodachrome,” “Super Troopers 2″ and “Lost in Translation”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I look at the first-place St. Louis Caardinals

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

Atlanta United tomorrow, sunshine outside and the Cardinals in first place. Sometimes things can be OK. Have a great weekend, and remember: There is no use in waiting passively to die. There could be no better demonstration of Werner Herzog’s vow that if he knew the world was ending tomorrow, he would begin another film.

On the way back from the airport this week, I sneaked by Coolray Field to watch the newly re-named Gwinnett Stripers play a Triple A game on Wednesday afternoon. You’ll note from the picture that Ronald Acuna, the top prospect in baseball, was playing in the game. He struck out. Someday I’ll be able to tell people I saw Acuna strike out in the minor leagues alongside roughly 75 people.

Here are this week’s pieces:

MONDAY
The Most Exciting Player on Every MLB Team (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
You Might Be Enjoying Ohtani, But the Mariners Sure Aren’t (MLB.com)
Debate Club: The Best Supermen (SYFY Wire)

THURSDAY
Bryan Price Is Just Another Doomed Manager Like the Rest of Them (MLB.com)
I Gave a Long Interview that I’m Counting Here Because I Wrote All the Answers (30 Newsletter)

FRIDAY
Review: “I Feel Pretty” (Paste Magazine)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

New show this week, with Judah Friedlander, about soccer. Watch the whole series here.

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
Movies! “Rampage,” “Come Sunday,” “The Rider,” “Borg vs. McEnroe” and “A.I.: Artifical Intelligence

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I went on a few days late, but it was worth it

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
G-Day Preview.

It is 72 and beautiful in Athens, Georgia. Don’t you wish you were here? Have a great weekend, everyone, and remember: Comedy, like other forms of art, cannot be measured, only appreciated.

David Letterman turned 71 yesterday. I find it disturbing how quickly his beard has taken over his Google Images page.

Here are this week’s pieces:

MONDAY
Thirty Incredibly Strange Stats from MLB’s Opening Week (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
Should the Orioles Pack It In Already? (MLB.com)
Debate Club: Ranking Lex Luthor Actors (SyFy Wire)

THURSDAY
The Amusement of Baseball “Fights” (MLB.com)

FRIDAY
Review: “Rampage” (Paste Magazine)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

New show, the impossibly talented Taylor Rooks. Watch it, and the whole series, here.

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
All new movies: “A Quiet Place,” “Blockers,” “You Were Never Really Here,” “Lean on Pete”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I grouse a bit

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and remember: “Kindness” covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. 

Sometimes putting the show together feels like a private joke we’re playing on the world that only I get.

Here are this week’s pieces:

MONDAY
In Defense of Gabe Kapler (MLB.com)
The NBA and Its Glorious Beefs (New York)

TUESDAY
Al Pacino Movies, Ranked (Vulture)
Tortured College Basketball Fanbases, Ranked (Medium)

WEDNESDAY
Both Tommy Pham and the Cardinals Are Right (MLB.com)

THURSDAY
The Most Fun Former Major Leaguers Still Rattling Around the Minors (MLB.com)
Debate Club: Superman Movie Villains (SYFY Wire)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

No show this week, but we taped two on Thursday.

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
“Ready Player One,” along with “Real Genius” and “Labyrinth”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I recap the first week of the season.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

San Antonio is truly a lovely town. I had no idea. Have a wonderful week, and remember: There are cars hurtling through the air, and 50 semi-trucks roaring down on 50 squad cars, and trucks driving on top of trucks, and cars getting sandwiched between trucks, and you name it. If you like this sort of thing and do not live within commuting distance of Santa Fe Speedway, I suppose this movie is just what you’re looking for.

These boys are sometimes too much.

Here are this week’s pieces:

MONDAY
The 10 Best Players Who Still Don’t Have a Team (MLB.com)

WEDNESDAY
A Set of Day-By-Day MLB Postseason Prediction For October (MLB.com)
Steven Spielberg Movies, Ranked (Vulture)
Debate Club: The Rock Movies (SYFY Wire)

THURSDAY
The Glory of This Particular Opening Day (MLB.com)
Review: “Ready Player One” (Paste Magazine)

FRIDAY
This Final Four Is Hiding All of College Basketball’s Problems (NBC News THINK)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

New episode! With comedian (and former Illinois football walkon) Godfrey. You can watch the show on Sports Illustrated’s Amazon Channel right here.

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
All new movies, with “Isle of Dogs,” “Unsane” and “Pacific Rim: Uprising.”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I with our big season preview (please ignore what we said about Greg Holland).

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

I am off to San Antonio! Go Ramblers! Have a great weekend, and remember: If “Siskel & Ebert & Roeper” had any utility at all, it was in exposing viewers, many of them still children, to the notion that it was permitted to have opinions, and expected that you should explain them.

CThis is the final end-of-week post until there is Cardinals baseball again. I have no idea how I survived so long without it. Here’s to Tommy Pham, who in one season – along with the 2015 NLCS homer off Jon Lester, the last great Cardinals postseason moment to date – instantly rocketed up to one of my top 25 favorite Cardinals of all time. Here’s to another journey, gentlemen.

Here are this week’s stories:

MONDAY
Can Jason Heyward Bounce Back? Can Anyone? (MLB.com)
So What Was Up With Baseball’s Offseason? (New York Magazine)

WEDNESDAY
Your Huge AL West Preview (MLB.com)
Every Steven Soderbergh Movie, Ranked (Vulture)

THURSDAY
Your Massive Annual Cardinals Roster Audit (MLB.com)
Debate Club: Best Self-Aware Performances in Terrible Blockbusters (SYFY Wire)

FRIDAY
Playing Pepper: 2018 St. Louis Cardinals Predictions (Cards Conclave)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

No show this week.

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
“Tomb Raider” and “Street Smart,” but mostly, a big honkin’ discussion of Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut”

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I are oddly optimistic in our penultimate season preview.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
No show this week.

Little League starts this weekend here in Athens. Coaching is stressful! But worth it. Have a great weekend, and remember: “Casablanca” is The Movie. There are greater movies. More profound movies. Movies of greater artistic vision or artistic originality or political significance. There are other titles we would put above it on our lists of the best films of all time. But when it comes right down to the movies we treasure the most, when we are – let us imagine – confiding the secrets of our heart to someone we think we may be able to trust, the conversation sooner or later comes around to the same seven words:"I really love ‘Casablanca’."I do too.”

We spent most of the kids’ Spring Break this week in Jupiter, Florida. The boys and the wife were into swimming and sun and those sorts of things; I, of course, only wanted to hit Spring Training games. I was delighted to learn, at the Cardinals-Nationals game in West Palm Beach, that the Nationals’ Presidents mascots are not the A-team of Roosevelt, Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson that you see at Nationals Park. The Spring Training Presidents are the less-regarded, less in-demand Taft, Coolidge and Hoover. (Last year, apparently the Nationals announced they had “retired” to Florida.) They were very friendly to my Matt Carpenter-jersey-wearing sons, though I am still not sure it makes up for Taft’s Southern Policy or Coolidge’s Scientific Taxation.

Here are this week’s stories:

WEDNESDAY
Your Big NL East Preview (MLB.com)
Debate Club: Best Child Performances (SYFY Wire)

THURSDAY
The Ten Oldest Players in Major League Baseball (MLB.com)

THE WILL LEITCH SHOW

Incredibly fun episode with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes. Watch on Amazon Channels.

Podcasts!

Grierson & Leitch (subscribe in iTunes)
“A Wrinkle in Time,” “Gringo,” “The Death of Stalin” and, yikes, “The Boondock Saints,” which I referred to as “the Barstool of movies.

Seeing Red (subscribe in iTunes)
Bernie Miklasz and I dig into Matt Carpenter, Luke Weaver, and the bullpen.

Waitin’ Since Last Saturday (subscribe in iTunes)
New show! Lots of basketball: Welcome Tom Crean!

Enjoy the tournament! Have a great weekend, and remember: What does it say about the values involved, when the pro sports machine reaches right down to eighth-grade playgrounds?