"PLEASE" DON'T GO!

I could just picture Buddy playing Double You's classic tune "Please Don't Go" over and over this week after the oranges showed up in Levi's office. What was Buddy doing there in the first place? Poor Buddy Jr. High School is tough enough without having your pops stalking the halls day in and day out.

Not since the Jumbo Tron has Buddy had a more outlandish idea, erect a statue of Coach. A man can't leave if you erect a statue in his honor, everyone knows that. the man is a special friend. He believes in loyalty and sticking with his people. Eric was always there for him as was the entire Taylor family.


Tinker's "Handsome Is A Huge Understatement" tee shirt was special.







As for Billy's "Ladies Man" tee I found it to be a tad inappropriate. I fully back him rocking Landing Strip gear, because that is like free advertising for Mindy, but at some point he needs to play tee shirt survivor and purge some of those older items from his bachelor days.

Vince got his reality check from Eric who made it clear that the team does not play to get him scholarship offers. In the next scene Eric at home with Tami asks how many books Gracie had her read before going to bed. He has always been able to transition from the locker room to the family room with such grace and consistent strength in both arenas. Move over Jerry Maguire there's a new Master of the Living Room.
We saw once again the respect Eric commands when the leader of Tim's parole hearing acknowledged his status and addressed him accordingly.

Eric delivered in full with his "I'm a high school football coach. I don't think there's a better position to be able to judge the content of a young man's character than that. I didn't ask him to be an assistant coach because of his skills on the field which we all know were prodigious. I asked him because of his character off the field."
Buddy stole the show though. "It's time you let Tim Riggins come home!"

Tim not wanting Billy to talk on his behalf was a shot in the gut, but I couldn't really blame him. Just as hurtful was hearing Tim say he felt like he let Coach down.

Tim did what he had to do to help his family. His father wasn't around and his big brother was more of a younger sibling than someone to look up to. Vince has his father back, but his mom was correct to tell "O" that their son needs a father not and agent."

Gut Check

"O" channeled Allen Iverson as he tried to pump up Vince and told him not to worry about having the red jersey taken away at practice. I mean, come on Vince, what are we talkin about man? Practice? Not a game! We talkin about practice.

And Vince, you can't help out Luke, the guy who has had your back all this way? The guy who saved continually got the ball back on defense so you could get another chance at glory? The kid who played through a debilitating injury last season? Listen to your mom Vince, she speaks the truth like Billy Zane.

Luke did need to step up to his mom right off the bat though. Becks had every right to be mad. The woman is a moron, sorry Luke. She was shocked when she saw her son kiss Becky. How do you think she got preggers church lady?

Only in the state of Texas would there be a mandatory class called "Texas History." not European, not American, Texas! Poor Epyck, she probably thought there was a basement in the Alamo.

Becky was adorable as she lamented about potentially seeing Luke in his "cute Lions uniform" for the last time.

Man Julie loves dropping the "I have to tell you something but you have to promise not to get mad" line doesn't she? First on her parents then on Matt. He did well to play it off, but it cut him deep.



Billy- "We've got Riglet #2 coming to a theatre near you! My boys can swim!" (placing the pregnancy test in his mouth triumphantly)
Mindy- "I Peed on that."

Way to bounce back Lions. Not sure why it took Eric so long to let Luke to run out of the shotgun but better late than never.

FRACTURE

All of a sudden Vince is like Leon from the Budweiser ads.
Luke continued to show his comedic side with his stellar impression of his over confident QB. "I threw the ball to myself, I caught it in the end zone and then I kicked the extra point with my gold plated schlong!"
Becky being nervous about his parents walking in on them making out took me back. He reassured Becks though that they wouldn't be interrupted because his parents were off tractor shopping which apparently is "an all day affair."
How great were Becky's mentors from the Landing Strip? All three of her fairy god strippers raised their hands when she rhetorically asked what kind of person loses their virginity in a truck. Mindy told her all she can do when life throws a lot of crap at you is pout it in the past and leave it there. "Or you can drink a lot, I'm just saying," added the short haired peeler. Who knew it was against the rules to lift up your boobs in pageants? Someone should tell Hawaiian Tropic. Then the other one insisted that after Becky won the pageant she should sneak into Luke's room wearing only her tiara. Sage advice right there! Mindy threw in a "Hell yeah" for good measure. She has really come into her own as a character this season. Loved how she thanked God for little Riggins's sleeping habits which enabled her to have her "Mama-tini Time."


Her better half shined again as he broke out the Haka dance made famous by the All Blacks. Eric wasn't a fan as he asked "What in God's green earth is a Samoan war dance?" I applauded it though. Defense is discipline, but it also is fire and passion.

Eric's fatherly instincts boiled over when Derek came calling. I liked how nervous the little academic ass was around Eric and how he corrected himself when after he first called him Mr. Taylor then quickly added "I mean Coach Taylor." Being a coach carries a lot of weight in Texas. Calling him mister was like calling a doctor the same. Respect was paid.

If you forgot how much the whole ordeal with Julie and Derek affected Eric you were reminded as he took the handle bars to Gracie's tricycle and smashed the T.A.'s tail light.
Getting back to Vince, what was this kid thinking. Can't blame him for enjoying the visit to Oklahoma Tech, especially when Kaela and Connie showed up to be his personal "escorts." Reminded me of Jesus Shuttlesworth's recruiting trip in He Got Game.


Did he not see the photographer standing there on the field though right when they walked on? I can forgive him for being naive and manipulated by his father and the college booster, but i lost all respect for him when he lied to Coach and said he missed practice because his mom was back on the junk. That was a low point for him.

The team is headed for a breaking point with Vince set to be the wedge that divides.

Other notable moments:

-Buddy Jr.'s "Greetings from Buddy's, Dillon, Texas" tee shirt.
-Vince's dad remarking how he needed to go to college after seeing the sights at the dorm pool.
-Eric asking "isn't part of probation getting a job?"
-Did your guidance counselor ever dress like this?

-And last but not least the return of Matt Saracen.

Perfect Record

Put some sprinkles on the ice cream folks, that episode was dessert! The Lions dished out an old fashioned butt whoopin' but more than that FNL served up yet another great episode.
What a great start to this week as Eric yelled out "if y'all punch this one in we can go home." Such a classic coaching maneuver for all you ex-jocks out there. The opposite of which is "we're gonna stay here all night if we have to until we get it right."
Buddy and the boosters showed up to stand watch over the Lions's field to start Rivalry Week off right. How about the Colonel bringing along his rifle? "Don't worry Coach, the safety's on and I still got the bullets in my pocket!"
We knew the final season was going to bring some old faces back, but I was blown away when Jason Street a.k.a. "6" returned and announced he had become a real deal big shot agent. You had to respect the hustle and initiative he showed by trying to gauge Eric's interest in taking a college job. He had to ask the question before Bob Sugar came calling right?
He looked great and I loved hearing about his family and how his son is only throwing a loose spiral but is working on it. A Panther for life he cracked me up as he told Eric that Street's look better in blue when Eric handed him a Lions hat. Eric tried to tell him that RED is the color these days and by the end of the game he certainly saw that for himself.Only weak spot in the former QB 1's game was showing up to the Lion's practice rocking his old Panthers jersey. You're a big time agent now son, act as if. He bounced back though when he was in the center of the Dillon huddle firing up the Panthers before the game. That was some palpable intensity.
Jess knew right away that Vince's dad moving back in was not a good idea. He is moving in more ways than one that was evident. Good on Vince for not taking the free shoes even if they were fly.
What Ornette doesn't understand is that Eric always puts his kid's welfare ahead of his own. He marched right into the Panther's den and told the boosters to go after him if they want, but to leave his kids alone. You could see the look of regret on Mac's face as his old friend was most certainly right.
Eric was pissed, the Lions were pissed and I was pissed at the web site. I liked how Eric controlled the situation though and told them to focus on practice and come Friday they would punish.
Billy continued his training of Luke but called out his toughness. Their back yard workouts provided a number of amazing quotes.
Billy: Real men don't use real weights! Real men fender bench!

Billy: Stevie gets angry when you don't run hard!

Billy: My wife is a woman dumb ass.

Luke: Ms. Riggins works at the Landing Strip?
Billy: Yeah whatever, listen, you gotta let them know that they can't get this. They gotta earn this.
Luke: So does she still work there? Like nights or weekends?
Billy training Luke while he carried little Stevie in the Baby Bjorn and sipped his beer was as good a moment as I've seen. "Goodness in a Glass"

Ornette seemed like he may have been getting back into his old ways as he stalked the sideline at practice and ran his mouth like he was hopped up on something. Reminded me of Marlon Wayans in Above the Rim.
Vince's mom though was too happy to see her man's interference as troublesome. She has he boys back and could not have been more happy watching them play ball with the kids in the Taylor's front yard. She did have to tell them to give the little kids their ball back though which took me back to Boyz N the Hood.
Tami and Eric has great chemistry once again playing off one another like seasoned vets. Some of my favorite moments have come when Tami and Julie are talking and Eric just shouts things out from the other room. This week it was when he was cleaning out the fridge and came across what must have been Julie's tofu and exclaimed, "what the hell is this, who eats this stuff?" I thought it weird how Julie earlier on asked Tami if Eric had made any tofu scramble. This is a guy who cooks bacon in his own office. Somehow I don't think tofu scramble is in his repertoire.
The scene where he and Tami were in bed and she fell asleep while Eric tried to get her to fool around was so amazingly accurate. Just ask any married men out there.
As for the game what can I say? From Luke saying "Good Night 85" to Tommy Larkins to Buddy Jr.'s hit on kickoff coverage, the whole game was stellar. I've been on the wrong end of plenty of blow outs and nothing hurts more than a team running up the score on you, but after what the Panthers did to the Lions with the web site I didn't fault them in the least. Tinker screaming at the Panthers to get off the field was a bit much, but I was not a fan of Coach Crowley getting all uppity and in the face of Billy. Look Billy has some growing up to do before he can become the head coach, but he gets these kids unlike any of the other staff. Even Eric had trouble holding back his enthusiasm during the game. Crowley needed to remind himself of the criminal nature and potentially career threatening consequences of the web site put up by the Panther faithful.
To close out the week we saw Luke and "Fours" finally get it on again, this time in a more G Rated manner, but not lacking any passion. I liked how he channeled Tim by calling Becks "Rally Girl" and such but he played the bashful boy in love well too.
Great episode and just another solid step toward the show's ultimate finish. I have to share one bit of hilarity with you all. When Luke layed out the Panther receiver to open the game I jumped up and cheered as consequently got yelled at by my wife for threatening to wake the kids. Like Billy i was so caught up in the excitement that I forgot for a second that they were just at the other end of the hall. So it seemed as if we all let our emotions get the better of us this week, but hopefully Vince will see his way to getting back on track and playing for himself and his team mates and not for the father who let's face it was not there to catch Vince when he fell, Eric was and gave him a chance to discover his talent.

Get Your Swerve On

Eric was dynamic as ever and said volumes with his actions and behavior. The scene where he watched Gracie sleeping as Julie looked in was so telling. Have we ever known Eric to walk out on a practice or be late for a game. When he chased Julie down the hall I stood up in my living room. That was REAL. One of the most laughable moments was when she told Tammi she maybe needed to go to Europe. YEAH RIGHT! Get in that car Julie and go face the music.
What a beat down by Vince's dad. There's taking care of things and then there's that. He should have pulled that trigger though. No chance that moment of mercy doesn't come back to haunt him. I'm also a little worried about Ornette's motivations about protecting Vince. He must have said five times to just stay focused on football. I think he sees a meal ticket in Vince. From the previews it looked like he will try to get involved with the college recruiting and knock heads with Eric. While I really liked his speech at the table about his time in jail, I can't help but think of Cam Newton's dad here. He did have a great line though when he told Vince "let's go be social, ladies be waitin."

I so wanted to see more of Tim's recruiting video. I thought Billy should have had Luke watch it. He did a great job with the pre game speech. Mindy was great as she counseled Becky and pushed her into her "Hottie Farm Boy's" arms but made sure to warn her about safe sex and all that "mommy talk."

Nice attnetion to detail when they had Billy assure Tim that he had been making all the payments on the peice of land he bought.

One thing is for certain, the Lions are for real. Eric is going to be lured away it looks like by a head coaching job. Does he take it and make Luke and Vince his prize recruits? We'll have to see. I think he leaves and Billy takes over the team. The speech was a bit of foreshadowing I think.

KINGDOM COME...KINGDOM CONQUERED

Julie what did the five fingers, say to the face?
SLAP!!!
That was as intense as it gets and reminiscent of Goodfellas where Karen goes to Janice Rossi's apartment. Liked how her roommate stood up for her. Tammi knew right away that something was wrong when Jules showed up at home unannounced.

How bout the lions though slapping the taste out the mouth of Kingdom? That was fantastic! Hastings shined and I rewound his touchdown three times so I could see Luke taunting the guy that just got laid out.
Luke's drunk rant was epic as was the convo the players had whilst Eric listened on earlier before the game. Little Buddy Jr. likes Cougars it looked like.


Julie isn't the only one who fell for a faculty member. Tammi's coworker is hot for teacher too. White wine and Chinese food, who is she kidding and she couldn't have been any less thrilled when Eric called, which was hilarious in it's own right.

The scene where Vince's dad met the coaches was pretty emotional. It was as if he was meeting the men who had been raising his son while he wasn't there. Gotta respect Eric though no matter who you are. Who else cooks bacon in their office? There is no chance though that "everything" concerning Vince's recruitment goes through him.

Break out game and episode for Hastings! Branding though? Having branded myself once I can tell you those boys must have still been good and drunk the next day because that smarts for way longer than overnight.

I'd give this episode 6 stars if I could. It had it all. The team and coaches both nursed hangovers, but I would walk on fire if it meant another season of this great show. Moment's like Vince telling Eric it's his team and he rides with the team, are rare and special. Even the stoic Eric Taylor couldn't help but blush at that one. Best episode of the season and ranks up there with the best in the show's history.

So many amazing quotes:
Eric: Success is not a goal it's a byproduct.

Buddy: They'll kill ya but they can't eat ya.

Luke: I like Country but this is Rap. Put them together and they sound like crap.

Billy: AAA is for women, we're men. We don't ask for directions and we fix our own cars.

Billy: Special Teams is about the real players taking a breather and the people in the stands getting a chance to drop the kids off at the pool. Special Teams? More like Special Ed.
Eric: Hey Coach? This is supposed to be a walk through.

Tinker: It's too damn quiet! I miss my cop cars and crack heads.

Hastings: Ay, that candy ain't free...that porn ain't either.

Luke: Tomorrow buddy.
Vince: Tomorrow.

Eric: Stay away from Dumb.

Hotel Manager: I'm glad you won your soccer game but I need you to tone it down.

Luke: And where's Buddy Jr.? Where are you girl?

Eric: So what are you all wearing?
Tammi: I gotta go now.

Right Hand of the Father

Maybe I'm soft but after hearing from a few people that this episode was weak, I am shocked. I thought it was a great episode and worth of it's own game ball in my episode trophy case. Not only do I think this episode will get Eric Taylor nominated for an Emmy again, I think his speech to Vince about character will win it. All his talk about what their standard entailed was great. Tinker said he was flipping tires in his dreams after Coach was so hard on them. I definitely have run so many gassers that I was doing them in my sleep, but I never had a coach then tell me to take a knee a deliver a speech about team standards like Eric did. Then he gets Vince with the, "Strive to be better than everyone else. Character is in the trying not being."
That was just great stuff.

The game was sick. Vince lead the crowd in cheering "Defense," Luke blew up the other team's QB and Tinker got flagged for doing his shuffle after Vince punched it in for six. What more do you want?

Other highlights were:
Jess's smile when Tami brought up the equipment manager spot.

Gracie Belle yelling "Think about it daddy!"

Billy: Shut your face Moreno

Vince's mom: Give him a chance for me. Let's be a family

Tinkers suit on game day.

Buddy's call to his wife: This is what I've decided. Send Buddy Junior home to
Dillon. Send my son home.

Vince's Dad: Tonight for the first time in my life I knew what pride felt like.

Was glad Vince didn't totally cave and ask his dad to come back in and stay with him and his mom. Julie and Tami were the low points of the episode which is hard to admit, but it's the truth.

So way late on this recap and I have yet to watch this week's episode. Spread a little thin these days so I apologize