Ponies, Paris Hilton, and Pacman Jones

BREAKING NEWS

A judge orders Paris Hilton back to jail, CNN confirms. She was taken from court screaming, The Associated Press reports.

The nation can now breathe a sigh of relief. Paris is off the streets. No more hiding, lockdown, or mandatory curfews. We got her. People can walk the streets feeling safe once again. In a country where sports celebrities such as Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, and Pacman Jones have still not been prosecuted, at least we can feel safe that Paris is behind bars. Ironic? Yeah, a little bit.

Bonds purjured himself. Yet the Feds can't gather enough evidence to press charges. Michael Vick's dog fighting case has now been handed over to the Feds. So far, nothing. According to several experts, there is already enough evidence to convict Michael Vick of organizing dog fights...yet we wait. And Pacman Jones. Wow, that's too easy. The fact that he is still not in jail is beyond me. The incident here in Vegas alone should be enough to put him away for a while...yet we still wait. Maybe there will eventually be justice served against all three of these people? And maybe, just maybe, OJ will find the real killers.

I'm all for not judging people until they are proven guilty...but c'mon people. Seriously? It's not a black/white/brown thing. It's a power and fame thing. If you have enought money and power, you can either limit your punishment or avoid punishment altogether. Literally, you can get away with murder. But hey, at least we got Paris Hilton behind bars.

Sopranos. Last episode. All week, fans of the show have been left to wonder: how is the show going to end? A column from the sports guy (ESPN), offers an interesting observation:

Sunday's episode was so tense, I almost started smoking again. Unbelievable. But why am I terrified that Paulie Walnuts is in cahoots with Phil Leotardo? Doesn't it seem fishy that Phil went after Tony, Silvio and Bobby but ignored Paulie, or that Paulie was in charge of Phil's whacking but it got "screwed up"? I'm fearing the Paulie backstab-out-of-nowhere, as scripted by Vince McMahon.

Honestly, this thought never even crossed my mind until the Sports Guy brought it up. From watching the last episode, it does seem like a reasonable conclusion as to how the show will end. I've seen every Sopranos episode, most of them multiple times. Even though the above does seem possible, it just doesn't make any sense that Paulie would turn on Tony. It's just not his character. What would make him have such a change of heart? Is he that power hungry? I don't think so. Paulie is one of the more likable characters on the show, although it could forever change in an instant, I don't see it happening. Here is my prediction.

Tony and the gang live through the night at the house. No attacks, everything goes quiet for a while. Tony visits Janice, Carmella, and his daughter the next day. Janice and Tony get into a fight (as usual)...except this time it involves Janice blaming Tony for Bobby's death and pissed that Tony has abandoned Uncle June. As a result, Janice finds a way to tell Phil's gang where Tony is hiding out. Tony, at some point, feels doomed and thinks about trying to go to the Feds for protection but ultimately decides not to. Who kills Tony? I don't know. Phil? A no-name in Tony's crew who has been working with Phil? No good answer here, and it may not matter who actually does the deed. Janice is behind it, not Paulie Walnuts. The show ends with Janice taking her kid to an ice cream shop feeling relieved that finally she can raise her kid without mob influence. Not a very happy ending, but very poetic.

Odds on who actually whacks Tony (all bets off if Tony lives):
Any member of Phil's gang: 3-5
Carmella: 9-1
AJ: 14-1
Paulie: 7-1
Patsy Parisi: 20-1
Janice: 30-1
Uncle June: 50-1
Field: 3-1

Wild cards:
AJ. With the knowledge of his dad's death at the hands of Phil's gang, does he try and lash out against Phil's gang himself? Maybe with his friends? Does he strap a bomb to his chest and try and take out Phil's gang at some point? This could happen. The weakest character in the show exacting revenge. Interesting.

Patsy Parisi. Why did he escape when they clipped Silvio (although he's not dead yet)? Was this a mistake or luck? Maybe nothing to it, but you never know.

Silvio. My take is that he'll die a quiet death early in the next show. But who knows?

Uncle June. Is the only reason the show hasn't killed him off because Janice can have another reason to hate Tony? Really? Doesn't seem logical.

Paulie. Discussed earlier.

Feds. Alternate ending: Tony goes to the Feds. He rats out on everybody and is given a new identity...and new life. The identity: Kevin Finnerty. Straight out of episode 68. Unlikely, but it could happen. For those that have no idea what I'm talking about, Kevin Finnerty was Tony's identity in his dreams while in a coma after being shot by Uncle June.

With all those wild cards, and probably more I haven't thought of, it's pretty tough to guess what's going to happen. All I know is, at 6 PM on Sunday: my phone will be off, the house locked up, my wife in her cage. To me this is the most anticipated television event in...well...ever.

Last subject: Belmont Stakes. I'm not really looking forward to this race that much. No possible triple crown winner and Curlin is the only proven horse running. Rags to Riches will be 0nly the 23rd filly to attempt the race. Only 2 have ever won. At 3-1, I'd like more of a price to take this horse. Good horse, could win...but not worth 3-1 in my opinion. Trifecta: 3/6-7/all. Cost $12. Probably won't pay much, but looks like a pretty good ticket. Good luck!

Rich Kim