Zack Snyder Reveals First Look at Affleck's Batman

Filmmaker Zack Snyder has taken to his personal Twitter account to reveal the new look of Batman as he'll be seen in the still untitled Batman/Superman film. Yesterday, the director Tweeted an image of the Batmobile underneath a tarp to tease his fans that a first look was on the way. Today, the image above was posted to his Twitter showing a brooding Ben Affleck in the Batsuit next to the cockpit of a fully redesigned Batmobile.

The new Batmobile looks like a cross between the Christopher Nolan Tumbler with some of the stylelines seen in previous incarnations of the iconic vehicle. Perhaps the hybrid imagery is to help draw some lines between the previous Dark Knight Trilogy and this new film, or perhaps it's just a coincidence that the looks are similar?

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A tease posted to Zack Snyder's Twitter account showing the Batmobile's posterior. (Courtesy Zack Snyder)

In terms of Affleck's Batsuit, the biggest element of note are the smaller ears at the top of the cowl, a cool nod to the suit's earlier incarnations. I'm also a fan of the giant-sized Dark Knight Returns logo that spans the entirety of his chest. Are we about to see the Goddamn Batman represented on screen? 

The Galaxy Would Have Been Much Safer with a Mom

Say what you will about the Star Wars prequels, there's one thing that's abundantly clear from those three stories: if Anakin Skywalker's mom would have survived there might not have been a Darth Vader and the events in the classic trilogy may have never happened. Everything would have been shiny, happy, Ewoks dancing around and playing -- well, there wouldn't have been Stormtroopers so I don't know what they'd be using as drums. Does Endor have coconuts? 

One of the most emotional moments in The Phantom Menace (besides the tears we all shed that it was the film we had all been waiting for and it was about diplomacy and trade embargoes, fun!) was a tender moment when Anakin's mother entrusts his care to a complete stranger that they had only met earlier that day. Despite the rough acting, there's an amazing John Williams cue that really builds the emotionality of the moment and stresses the importance of what the audience is viewing. This is the moment that Darth Vader is born. It's not when he kills a bunch of Tusken Raiders, it's not when he (I guess?) kills Padme(?), it's this moment when he has to say goodbye to his mom.

If you follow the sequence of events from that point forward, if he wouldn't have left his mother, she presumably would have been with him when she was sold and found love. Anakin would have been a teenaged kid (or he's like 30 in the movie but… whatever) so he might have been able to fend off the Tusken Raiders when they attacked. Oh, and that small detail that Anakin wouldn't have gone to learn how to use his Force abilities so that he could choke out some Admirals later down the line. If Anakin doesn't say goodbye to Shmi Skywalker in that emotional moment, they all might have lived happily ever after.

Moms are pretty darn important, no matter if you're on the verge of being one of the biggest Force-weilding strong-arms in the galaxy or if your mom is just a few states away. Think of where you might be without the guidance of your mom… you might just have become Darth Vader too.

Mothers, The Real MVPs

Athletes can be huge jerks sometimes. Not Kevin Durant. In case you missed it, Kevin Durant won the NBA MVP award last week. He then made an MVP acceptance speech for the ages. He showed what a class individual he is. It was a fine display of humility for a guy that could take the same road as many athletes do once they reach the top of the sports food chain, which is become me-first jerkwads that forget they are just humans like the rest of us.

During his speech he told a few stories from his childhood and pointed out and thanked his personal MVP… his mother. The moment was emotional. Watching the video might make you shed a tear or two. My eyes even started to sweat a little, not gonna lie.

While I was watching I kept thinking about the sacrifice it takes to be a mother. I thought about my own mom raising me and my brother as a single parent for the first 10 years of my life. I thought about how crazy of a Bears fan she was in the 80s and 90s. There's no doubt where my love for sports came from. She would yell at the TV when the Bears were on. I always knew it was serious and now I carry on that tradition. Only I've expanded my yelling to include the Cubs, Blackhawks and Bulls. Thanks mom.

I also think of my wife and how great she is with my son. Without her there's no way my son could enjoy sports the way he does. Mom's pave the way to allow kids to be involved in sports. People say soccer mom like its a bad thing. It's badass. It's a badge of honor if you ask me. Their support in just being at games is monumental.

And don't get me started on the subject of me watching games. I'm a frickin' ball of nerves watching one of my teams play. I'm also a huge pain in the ass when they lose. I know this. But I'm still a pain in the ass. I'll sit there with my arms folded and not say a word. You could fry an egg on my head after a tough Bears or Blackhawks loss.

But Lindsay knows when the going gets tough, I just need my space to calm down for like an hour. She's not only supportive for my son Jack's sporting adventures, she comes to watch me play and support me in my games as well.

So guys and gals, don't forget to return the favor and show your mom's some love today on her special day. It doesn't matter if you're Kevin Durant or just an old guy playing in a men's league, your mom's helped all of you and encouraged you to participate in sports which in some way has shaped you into the person you are today.

Happy Mother's Day, mom. Happy Mother's Day, Lindsay.  You are the best moms that one son and husband can ask for. I thank you and love you guys with all of my heart.

Finding Faith in Humanity

Earlier this evening the NFL Draft concluded. Usually the  third day of the draft is the least eventful of all the days. By now most of the college stars that are household names are scooped up. Most of the guys drafted today will be in and out of the league within a few years. Some will be cut before they get to play a snap of pro football. Some will become future hall of famers. There are players drafted first overall that never find success. Tom Brady, American Male Ugg enthusiast, was a flabby 6th round pick at one point. There are no rules to knowing who's skills will or won't translate to the pro game. That's why it's such a gamble, but a very fun gamble.

Today wasn't the ordinary boring third day of the draft. Today was Michael Sam day. Michael Sam is a defensive end from the University of Missouri. He was the SEC co-defensive player of the year. He is 6'2" and weighs 261 lbs. He is also the first openly gay professional athlete.

For a while it looked like he wasn't going to be selected. But in the 7th round the St Louis Rams pulled the trigger and made sports history. ESPN had cameras covering the event at Sam's draft party. If you haven't seen the video, I encourage you to do so. Sam was shown on the phone talking with the Rams. He burst into tears as he was told he was going to be selected. He then proceeded to kiss his boyfriend. It was a cool moment.

Of course, not everyone is on board with this "new age" love. Twitter was ablaze with intolerant morons that don't recognize the importance of this moment. I feel sorry for those people that can't handle the fact that two people love each other and shared a special moment. There was one misguided fellow that questioned how he was going to explain to his kids that two men were kissing on television! I can't possibly imagine how this poor man now has to go out of his way to explain to his son that it's entirely possible that two men actually love each other. 

Some of us, and I'd like to say the majority of us, just shrugged it off. We grasped the importance of the moment but didn't see anything weird about a couple kissing on TV. Some of us may have even done our jobs as parents and told our kids that both of those men were human beings and its ok for two people to love each other. How would I explain this "Michael Sam situation" to my own son? It wasn't as easy as it seemed. 

"Well son, Michael Sam is what the NFL general managers call a 'tweener'. That means he's having a hard time being assigned a position because of his size and weight. He's too small to be a lineman and too big to run around and be a linebacker. So he may struggle." And that, Sir Idiots of Twitter, is how I would explain it to my son. I have an issue with the modern day mongrel that sees love as a disease. Those that feel the same way are the true disease.

As we move on in time future generations will become more and more tolerable of same sex relationships. One day, hopefully in my lifetime, there will be a point in time where people look back at this moment in time and wonder why a gay professional athlete being drafted was such big news. For now, we unfortunately have to deal with the hatred and bigotry spewed from the mouths of the stupid. But today was a giant leap in the right direction. Today was a good day in sports history. Now all Michael Sam needs to worry about is Michael Sam the football player. I hope he does well. Just not when the Rams plays the Bears.