Weekend - April 23, 2020

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Weekend

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LIVEWIRE: Month of May sees more concert cancellations, E4 OFF THE MENU: Distribution channels face challenges, E10 BEER NUT: Tasting two doubles side by side, E10

Best sports films Movies to watch until real thing starts up again, Page E2

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Head coach Herb Brooks, portrayed by Kurt Russell, leads the U.S. men’s ice hockey team to gold in the 1980 Winter Olympics in “Miracle.” (WALT DISNEY PICTURES)

ON THE COVER

Best sports films Movies to watch until the real thing returns

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n these perilous times, sports fans have a problem: What to watch? Usually, at this time of year, television screens abound with baseball, basketball and hockey action, along with an array of soccer matches and that football spinoff known as the XFL.

We recently tried to help baseball fans by offering a list of 20 movies, ranging from “Fever Pitch” in the No. 1 spot to honorGarry Brown able mentions like “Bad News Bears.”

That prompted a note from a fan of the Boston Bruins urging The Republican to do the same for his favorite sport. Well, we decided to do that — and more.

We hereby offer Top 10 lists of hockey, basketball, football and boxing movies.

In each case, we review the film we rate as No. 1, then let the others fall into line.

So here we go:

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HOCKEY 1. “Miracle” (2004): Its very subject — Uncle Sam’s stunning upset of the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid — automatically makes it the No. 1 hockey movie. Kurt Russell gives a compelling portrayal of Herb Brooks, the University of Minnesota coach who brings a roster of collegiate players together to knock off a Red Army powerhouse that had manhandled them 10-3 in an exhibition game only a month before the Olympics. Some great inside-hockey scenes, including one in which the displeased coach makes his players skate wind-sprints (called “Herbies”) until they are ready to drop. Later, it’s all worth it when BU’s Mike Eruzione scores the goal that beats the Soviets 4-3. Next, Team USA defeats Finland 4-2, thereby completing its “miracle on ice.” Best dialogue, from Brooks prior to the Soviet Union game: “If we played ’em 10 times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight WE are the greatest hockey team in the world.”

2. “Slap Shot” (1977): This Paul Newman gem would be No. 1 if not for “Miracle.”

3. “The Rocket” (2005): The legend of Maurice “Rocket” Richard, superstar of the Montreal Canadiens.

4. “Pond Hockey” (2008): One critic calls it “the best and purest hockey movie ever.”

5. “The Mighty Ducks” (1997): Kid hockey and Emilio Estevez at their best.

6. “Mr. Hockey” (2013): In 1973, Gordie Howe returns to hockey at age 44.

7. “MVP” (2000): A monkey that plays hockey becomes Most Valuable Primate. This one’s a real charmer.

8. “Soul on Ice” (2016): Documentary study of African Americans in hockey, then and now.

9. “Goon” (2011): A Canadian comedy, starring the fictional Doug “The Thug” Glatt.

10. “Hockey Champ” (1939): Donald Duck skates with Huey, Dewey and Louie BASKETBALL 1. “Hoosiers “(1986): The uplifting story of a smalltown high school team winning the Indiana state championship against all odds. Gene Hackman does a great job as the team’s oft-controversial coach. Dennis Hopper plays his assistant, a recovering alcoholic, a role that earned him an Oscar nomination. This story of fictional Hickory High School is modeled after rural Milan High School, which did win the Indiana state tournament against large schools in 1954.

Best dialogue (Coach to player): “Stick with your man.

Think of him as chewing gum. By the end of the game, I want you to know what flavor he is.”

2. “White Men Can’t Jump” (1992): A tour de force for Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson as streetball rivals who become fast friends.

SEE SPORTS, PAGE E3

From left: Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire star in “Rocky”; Matthew Fox and Matthew McConaughey appear in a scene from “We Are Marshall”; Michael Jordon stars alongside Bugs Bunny and Bill Murray in “Space Jam.” (UNITED ARTISTS / METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER; WARNER BROS. PICTURES / LEGENDARY PICTURES; WARNER BROS. PICTURES)

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Gene Hackman plays Coach Norman Dale in the 1986 movie “Hoosiers.” (METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC.)

3. “Space Jam” (1996): Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny get together in a very convoluted but entertaining plot. Of course, it ends with “That’s all, folks.”

4. “Coach Carter” (2005): True story of a high school coach dedicated to making his players strike a proper balance between academics and basketball. Samuel Jackson is just right for the role.

5. “Juwanna Mann” (2002): Banned NBA player Jamal Jeffries turns female impersonator and stars in the WNBA before his scheme unravels. Kevin Pollak shines as Jeffries’ agent.

6. “More Than a Game” (2008): A documentary that follows LeBron James and four of his teammates through their high school years in Akron, Ohio, and James’ journey on to NBA fame.

7. “Glory Road” (2006): In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins starts the first all African American lineup in an NCAA final and stuns No. 1 Kentucky.

8. “He Got Game” (1996): Denzel Washington and Ray Allen (the NBA player) star in this father-son basketball drama, directed by Spike Lee. 9. “Air Bud” (1997): A golden retriever shoots hoops.

Who could ask for anything more?

10. “Blue Chips” (1994): Nick Nolte as a college coach trying to handle the high-pressure world of recruiting. The cast includes NBA players Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway.

WEEKEND

FOOTBALL 1. “Rudy” (1993): Sean Astin stars in the true story of Rudy Ruettiger, an undersized defensive end who finally lives his dream when he makes the football team at Notre Dame as a walk-on.

He never plays until the final game of his senior season (1975), when coach Dan Devine sends him onto the field in the closing minutes of a victory over Georgia Tech.

Rudy sacks the quarterback on the game’s final play, and gets carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates. Hollywood puts its own spin on some key scenes, but the real Rudy later said the movie is “92 percent true.” Memorable line (Rudy, on entering Notre Dame

Stadium): “This is the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen.”

2. “Remember the Titans” (2000): Denzel Washington as a high school coach determined to have an integrated football team, which, after much drama and racial tension, he leads to the state championship.

3. “The Blind Side” (2009): Sandra Bullock won an Oscar and Golden Globe for her portrayal of a mother who befriends and eventually adopts a homeless African American youth, Michael Oher, who becomes an NFL first-round draft pick. True story.

4. “Brian’s Song” (1971): James Caan and Billy Dee Williams as Chicago Bears teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, close friends who must deal with Piccolo’s diagnosis of terminal cancer.

A tear-jerker, but well done.

5. “We Are Marshall” (2006): The aftermath of a plane crash that killed 37 players and five coaches of Marshall University.

Top-notch performance by Matthew McCounaughey as Marshall’s new coach.

6. “Leatherheads” (2008): Captain of the Duluth Bulldogs (George Clooney) struggles to save his team in the early years of pro football.

John Krasinski helps as his star player.

7. “Heaven Can Wait”

Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher and Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy in “The Blind Side,” based on a true story. ( ALCON ENTERTAINMENT / WARNER BROS. PICTURES)

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Bulldogs team captain Dodge Connolly (George Clooney, center) leads the huddle in quick-witted romantic comedy “Leatherheads” set against the backdrop of America’s pro football league in 1925. (MELINDA SUE GORDON/ UNIVERSAL PICTURES)

(1978): An NFL quarterback (Warren Beatty) goes to Heaven prematurely because of a mistake by his rookie guardian angel (Buck Henry).

The angel must find a way to get his QB to the Super Bowl.

8. “Friday Night Lights” (2004): A sobering study of high-pressure high school football in Texas. Coach Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) gives a memorable “being perfect” speech to his Permian team.

9. “Knute Rockne, All-American” (1940): An unforgettable oldie, starring Pat O’Brien as the player and coach who put Notre Dame on the football map. Ronald Reagan (yes, the president) plays terminally ill star George Gipp, who says, “Tell them to go out there and win just one for the Gipper.”

10. “The Longest Yard” (1974): Burt Reynolds stars as an incarcerated former NFL quarterback who leads a team of convicts to last-second victory over a team of prison guards. Lots of laughs along the way.

BOXING 1. “Rocky” (1976): Sylvester Stallone wrote it, and starred as Rocky Balboa, giving us one of the all-time greatest sports movies, and an Oscar winner. It’s a study in all-out determination as a huge underdog gets a shot at the reigning heavyweight champion (former NFL player Carl Weathers as the fearsome Apollo Creed). Rocky loses the fight, but becomes

the first to go 15 rounds with the champ. His romance with Adrian (Talia Shire) and his workouts with a crusty old trainer (Burgess Meredith) add to the movie’s charm.

This one is so good, it has spawned eight sequels. Best dialogue (Rocky): “Going one more round when you don’t think you can. That’s what makes all the difference in your life.”

2. “Raging Bull” (1980): A Martin Scorcese masterpiece starring Robert DeNiro as self-destructive middleweight Jake LaMotta and newcomer Joe Pesci as his manager/brother. DeNiro won the Academy Award for this one.

3. “On the Waterfront” (1954): This winner of eight Oscars isn’t really a boxing movie, but it’s best known for Marlon Brando’s “I coulda been a contender” lament.

4. “Champion” (1949): This melodrama traces the meteoric rise and fall of Midge Kelly, a ruthless champion. The film earned five Oscar nominations, including one for Kirk Douglas as the hateful Kelly.

5. “Million Dollar Baby” (2004): Another Oscar winner for best picture and best actress (Hilary Swank). Clint Eastwood also stars in this tough-love story that does not end well.

6. “Ali” (2001): Will Smith stars in a film that focuses on a tumultuous time in Muhammad Ali’s life (1964-74).

It covers his rise as a heavy-

SEE SPORTS, PAGE E4

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MUSIC

May sees more concert cancellations

T Hilary Swank stars in ‘’Million Dollar Baby.”

(WARNER BROS. PICTURES)

Sports CONTINUED FROM PAGE E3

Garry Brown can be reached at geebrown1918@gmail.com

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Five Finger Death Punch’s, above, May 5 show at the DCU Center in Worcester and Kesha’s, left, May 30 Foxwoods appearance are among the many concert cancellations for May in the region.

(ETHAN MILLER / GETTY IMAGES)

her 2020 tour plans in favor of a hopefully safer outing in 2021.

“I’m so sad I won’t be able While MGM Springfield has to see you guys in concert this “temporarily suspended oper- year, but I know this is the ations” the casino still lists a right decision. Please, please May 31 date with The Comstay healthy and safe. I’ll see modores in the Aria Ballroom you on stage as soon as I can with tickets on sale through but right now what’s important is committing to this Ticketmaster. quarantine, for the sake of all As May gets swept away, concert fans can look to June. of us,” said Swift on Twitter.

The tour was to include a That month brings Tony Bennett (June 6) and Jackson stop at Gillette Stadium in New England. She was slated Browne (June 21) to Foxwoods, the Dave Matthews to play the Foxborough footBand (June 16, 17) to Mohegan ball stadium on July 31 and Aug. 1. It was part of a U.S. Sun and the beginning of the tour that featured only two outdoor concert season at places like the Xfinity Theatre stops ; New England (Lover Fest East) and Los Angeles in Hartford, which is set to host Sugarland on June 6.

Depending on which news outlet you prefer those dates are either completely plausible or dangerously irresponsible.

(Lover Fest West) The tour was staged to support her latest release “Lover.”

• The rap duo of Method Man & Redman is coming to Worcester.

They will perform at the Palladium on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the show are available through the promoter’s website at massconcerts. com.

Method Man from Wu Tang Clan and Redman of Def Squad have been working together since 1994.

They released their first fulllength recording, “Blackout,” in 1999.

• Godsmack’s Sully Erna has taken to YouTube.

Erna launched “Hometown Sessions” last week and continues with new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m.

The shows can be viewed on youtube.com/SullyErna.

Eran founded the popular modern rock band GodsSEE LIVEWIRE, PAGE E7

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weight champion, conversion to Islam, going to jail in opposition to the Vietnam War and his return to the ring.

7. “Somebody Up There Likes Me” (1956): Paul Newman as Rocky Graziano, a middleweight champion of the post-war 1940s with a hard-hitting life story, including winning — then losing — to Tony Zale.

8. “The Fighter” (2010): Mark Wahlberg’s searing study of the life and hard times of Micky Ward, a welterweight champ from Lowell. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won Oscars for their supporting roles.

9. “Cinderella Man” (2005): This Ron Howard-Penny Marshall production tells the blue-collar story of James J. Braddock, a heavyweight champ during the Great Depression. Russell Crowe does the fighting.

10. “Play It to the Bone” (1999): If a boxing movie can be light-hearted, this one gets the job done thanks to perky performances by Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas.

HE LIST OF CONcert cancellations continues to grow as both venues and artists, after wiping the slate completely clean in April, have now set their sights on May. May concerts at local casinos, clubs, and arenas have all been canceled or moved to the ubiquitous “TBA.” Five Finger Death Punch, originally slated for May 5 at the DCU Center in Worcester has simply been removed from the calendar. In fact, the calendar on the DCU website doesn’t even include the month of May. Searching around the site one will eventually find a note that “all tickets that require a refund due to a canceled event needs to be returned to the point of purchase (Ticketmaster).”

Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, has canceled arena shows with Niall Horan (May 1) and has postponed dates with Ozuna (May 30) and Schitts’ Creek (June 7).

Dave Chappelle’s appearance on May 9 has been rescheduled to Aug. 22. The venue has yet to postpone Patti LaBelle’s May 3 show, however the event is no longer listed on her website.

The banner across the top of Mohegan Sun’s website recently changed its “re-opening” date from April 15 to April 30.

Foxwoods in Mashantucket, Connecticut, has postponed all shows through Kesha’s May 30 date except for a Candlebox performance scheduled for May 7 in the Fox Theater.

Candlebox’s own website has the group off the road until a July 10 date in Ohio.

The Toyota Oakdale in Wallingford, Connecticut, has put a hold on the May 7 date with the Temptations and Four Tops, along with AJR on May 15.

The Academy of Music in Northampton has rethought its May calendar, removing all shows including the May 3 performance of They Might Be Giants.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020 | E5

DVD RELEASES

‘Bad Boys for Life’ keeps ’90s action alive

By Katie Foran-McHale

Tribune News Service

Two classic action heroes get back in the game in the top new DVD releases for this week.

“Bad Boys for Life”: It’s been a minute since we last heard from Martin Lawrence and Will Smith’s wisecracking Miami detectives Marcus and Mike (Want to feel old?

“Bad Boys II” came out 17 years ago). But, thanks to directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the ’90s nostalgia keeps on coming.

In the film, Mike (Smith) is injured by a family seeking revenge for the detective’s role in a drug lord’s prison sentence. He seeks help from his partner, Marcus (Lawrence), and an elite team called AMMO to track down and stop the cartel.

If you were a fan of Michael Bay’s first two installments of the franchise, this one is more of the same, with plenty of love for the genre and even more love for its characters.

“El Arbi and Fallah have done seemingly the impossible. They’ve taken over an action franchise 17 years after the last installment and made a film that’s a delightfully dizzying love letter to action filmmaking of yore, while respectfully preserving the franchise’s best elements,” wrote Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh in her review. “It really makes you believe that these bad boys just might actually be for life.”

Also new on DVD “The Turning”: Eerie events haunt a nanny (Mackenzie Davis) who’s taking care of two orphans in an East Coast Gothic mansion.

“Fatal Attraction”: The 1987 hit thriller starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close is being rereleased on Blu-ray with a remastering under the supervision of director Adrian Lyne.

“The Gentlemen”: An expat in London (Matthew

“They’ve taken over an action franchise 17 years after the last installment and made a film that’s a delightfully dizzying love letter to action filmmaking of yore, while respectfully preserving the franchise’s best elements.”

Katie Walsh

Above, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence star in “Bad Boys for Life.” At left, Matthew McConaughey and Michelle Dockery star in “The Gentlemen.” (SONY PICTURES; STX ENTERTAINMENT)

available on Digital HD. “1BR”: An insecure Los Angeles woman (Naomi Grossman) finds belonging in an apartment complex that quickly turns dark. Available on Digital HD tomorrow.

“To the Stars”: A farmer’s daughter (Jordana Spiro) hits it off with an outgoing new girl in town (Malin Akerman) in 1960s Oklahoma. Available on Digital HD tomorrow.

“True History of the Kelly Gang”: This Western/drama follows the gang of outlaws led by Australian bushranger Ned Kelly as they seek to evade law enforcement.

Available on Digital HD tomorrow.

documentary, ice climbers Ari Novak and Karsten Delap embark on a dangerous journey in India. Now available on Digital HD. “Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time Volume 1: Midnight McConaughey) faces layers of el of the same name, the Hulu Madness”: This documentary explores the history of schemes while attempting to miniseries follows boarding sell off his weed business. school student Miles (Charlie cult classics like “The Big Lebowski” and “The Rocky “Ip Man 4: The Finale”: Plummer), whose love story The Kung Fu master Ip Man with Alaska (Kristine Froseth) Horror Picture Show.” Now (Donnie Yen) heads to the results in tragedy.

United States as his student “Party Hard, Die Young”: opens up a martial arts A trip to a techno party in school and faces discrimiCroatia turns deadly for a nation from the community. group of friends celebrating In Cantonese, English and their graduation. Stars Marlon Boess, Markus Freistatter Mandarin. and Michael Glantschnig. In “King Creole”: The 1958 German. film starring Elvis Presley “Sea Fever”: A trappedas a young man supporting with an Order Online at-sea crew attempts to ward his family as a club singer off a deadly parasite. Stars after joining a gang is being LGBTQ+ Connie Nielsen, Hermione released on Blu-ray.

Friendly Corfield and Dougray Scott.

“The Last Full Measure”: Airman William H. “To Catch a Thief ”: The AEStoresGreenfield AdamEveGreenfieldMA Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine) Alfred Hitchcock classic is Pleasure, Adventure & Fun is awarded the country’s being rereleased on Blu-ray www.Greenfield.AdamEveStores.com highest military honor postfor its 65th anniversary.

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Stay at Home, Play at Home

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E6 | THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020

Video games to play with kids

By Seth Schiesel

New York TImes

You’ve binge-watched “Paw Patrol.” You’ve sat through “Frozen II” a dozen times. There must be something better — more interactive and fun — to do with your kids while stuck at home. Look at it as an opportunity to connect and build relationships with your children by doing something together: playing video games. The trick, of course, is finding ones that you actually want to play without driving yourself crazy.

If your kids already play, ask them to explain their game to you, no matter how inane or mysterious it may seem. Ask them to let you try it, under their guidance. You may be surprised at your response.

The first step: Find out what they are already playing. Express genuine, nonpatronizing interest and you might find some common ground. If your kids already play, ask them to explain their game to you, no matter how inane or mysterious it may seem. Ask them to let you try it, under their guidance. You may be surprised at your response.

It’s likely that your kids are into at least one of the big three games popular with children –— Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft — each of which has hundreds of millions of players.

SEE GAMES, PAGE E7

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VIDEO GAME REVIEW

‘Resident Evil 3’ has great graphics

By Christopher Byrd

Special to The Washington Post

I’m typically numb to the cultural fixation with zombies. One can see only so many instances of brain munching and exposed entrails before the power to shock begins to dim. That said, when the “Resident Evil” series is at its best I can ignore how cliche the whole zombie-killing enterprise is.

Capcom has recently been on a remake kick. The recent release of “Resident Evil 3” comes a little more than a year after the release of its numerical predecessor.

Surprisingly, I’ve found it to be my favorite of the past three games because of its brisk pacing and the ways in which it varies the tempo of the action.

“Resident Evil 3” wastes no time establishing its zombie apocalypse scenario. At the start, special agent Jill Valentine, who works for the Raccoon City police department, awakens from a zombie-tinted nightmare only to find herself terrorized by a monstrous assassin — a hulking “bioweapon,” code-named Nemesis, who is dedicated to exterminating any member of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.).

Following a frantic escape from her apartment, Jill finds herself on the zombie-overrun streets of Raccoon City where she eventually runs into Carlos Oliveira, a mercenary who works for the Umbrella Corporation.

Carlos’ employer was responsible for the manufacture of the biological agent that turns people into zombies.

Carlos, however, is a genial dupe who understands his mission to be a humanitarian one. Although Jill takes an initial dislike to him, the two work together to try to restore Raccoon City’s subway system to help evacuate civilians.

Players alternate between Jill and Carlos over the length of the campaign. Jill’s sections hew closer to the survival

“Resident Evil 3.” (CAPCOM)

need to open another branch of the map. I appreciate how well the level design works Developed by: Capcom to play off the sense of the Published by: Capcom frustration that comes from Available on: PlayStation 4, smacking into locked doors, Xbox One and the corresponding delight that comes from finally opening them. The intricate level horror template of “Resident design is purpose-built for generating waves of tension.

Evil 2.” For most of the first One of my problems with half of the game, Jill must rely on a handgun and shotgun to most horror games is that repeated encounters with the put down the various types of hellish creatures that cross same enemy types diminish their possibility to unnerve. her path. On the standard On that score, “Resident difficulty level, ammo isn’t Evil 3” does a decent job of plentiful but it isn’t vexingly introducing new enemies and scarce either. Enemy placement and resources are care- presenting different variafully distributed throughout tions of Jill’s arch foe, Nemethe map to tease players with sis. Though I can’t say I found the possibility that they might the game to be that scary, run out of ammo. By contrast, I did hope that the game’s monstrous bugs, which like to Carlos’ sections are more action-oriented. Because he’s jump on people and inject a colony of parasitical maggots armed with an assault rifle, down their throats, wouldn’t the developers can throw crop up in my dreams. more foes in his direction.

The true star of “Resident Save for an intense shootout at a hospital, Carlos’ missions Evil 3,” though, is the superb RE graphics engine, which defeel more forgiving. buted in 2017’s “Resident Evil Progress unfolds by scurrying back and forth across 7: Biohazard.” Environments levels, finding an item here in the game are dramatically that can be used over there. lit and brimming with details.

Much of the game’s tension As I made my way through arises from the dread of won- the campaign, I couldn’t help dering if you’ll make it back to but wonder how the engine a save point with the item you will scale after the release of

‘RESIDENT EVIL 3’

the next-generation consoles.

Parts of the game, such as the opening in Jill’s apartment, look positively cinematic — so textured and atmospheric one can almost imagine that video games will draw near the end of the uncanny valley in our lifetimes. If and when that should occur, I hope that Capcom will have found another horror template than zombies.

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Taylor Swift has shuttered her 2020 tour plans, including a stop at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on July 31 and Aug. 1.

(JC OLIVERA / GETTY IMAGES)

Games CONTINUED FROM PAGE E6

If your kids play Fortnite, in which 100 players battle until only one is left standing, you may find the game interesting to watch but you should have realistic expectations about actually playing with them.

Fortnite certainly rewards teamwork, cooperation and strategic planning, but it also requires a level of reflexes, eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity beyond almost anyone who can remember the Clinton administration.

Roblox is not a single game but rather a platform for thousands of different minigames created by users. Some of those minigames are more manipulative in trying to extract real money from players than others. As with Fortnite, it is unlikely parents will have much fun with Roblox, though for a different reason: Much of Roblox is just simplistic.

Minecraft, however, probably has the broadest crossover appeal between adults and children of any video game, and for good reason. Minecraft’s basic formula — explore a newly created world, find materials, build structures — generates a cycle of discovery, creation and community stimulating enough for curious adults but accessible enough to captivate even grade-school children. If your kids already play Minecraft, you should give them the opportunity to introduce you to a new hobby, as long as you can stand the blocky graphics.

If none of these options

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LiveWire CONTINUED FROM PAGE E4

mack in 1995. The group’s first three releases reached No. 1 on the Billboard rock charts and the band has been nominated for four Grammy Awards.

• Amidst all the shuffling of schedules and pandemic-related postponements, the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton has added three new shows to its live

Like other mainstay concert events around the world, the long-running festivals have been scuttled due to coronavirus concerns.

New Orleans organizers have already begun working on next year’s event, which will take place April 22 to May 2 as normal.

The organizers of the Montreux Jazz Festival have announced the launch of Montreux Media Ven• The 2020 Montreux Jazz Fes- tures, a company that will produce tival, along with the New Orleans live-streaming content including Jazz Festival, have been canceled. concerts.

entertainment calendar.

The venue will feature Irish bluegrass band JigJam on July 30, songwriter Griffin House on Aug. 23, and blues-rocker Michelle Malone on Sept. 16. All three shows start at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the shows are available through the Northampton Box Office at 413-586-8686 and online at iheg.com.

are appealing, don’t give up.

There are plenty of other choices that can engage both parents and children, both multiuser games played simultaneously and single-player games played as a team.

And most are available for multiple systems.

One final piece of advice before the recommendations: Don’t let yourself be put off by cartoony graphics. Just as the best animated films are written to entertain both young children and their parents, games often use a similar sleight-of-hand: wrapping subtle play systems in simple The trick to playing video games with your children is finding images. ones that you actually want to play without driving yourself For ages 5 to 8 • Nintendo Switch. The Switch is varied enough to include games for every age, but before children can even play properly they may enjoy “helping” you through a game that pushes some nostalgic buttons. I know parents who are currently playing through Switch editions of “Super Mario Bros.” and the “Legend of Zelda” with “help” from 4-year-old offspring. The new, wildly popular “Animal Crossing” for Switch is a perfect example of a deep game hidden beneath a kiddie veneer.

• “Gang Beasts.” Sometimes the family just needs to brawl as pudgy, hilarious, endearing, gelatinous thugs.

• “Just Dance 2020.”

We’re all struggling to get the exercise we need — not to mention moments of pure fun. “Just Dance” can provide both, and as much healthy sweat as you and the family can handle. It includes tracks

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crazy. (ROZETTE RAGO / THE NEW YORK TIMES)

Band can provide a fascinating facsimile of actually playing music.

• “Rocket League.” Flying cars with rockets smashing a ball around to play high-velocity soccer. As with real soccer, teamwork overcomes all.

• “Stardew Valley.” Despite its cutesy appearance, the strategy and base-building in “Stardew Valley” are approachable enough for children (and novice adults) For ages 8 to 12 while also rich enough for • Lego. Yes, Lego still expert gamers. makes plastic construction • “LittleBigPlanet 3.” blocks, but the Lego concept “LittleBigPlanet” is not only a has also been extended to vid- whimsical, delightful “plateo games in worlds including former” — a game where Star Wars, Harry Potter, Mar- players traverse treacherous, vel, DC and Lord of the Rings. puzzle-like landscapes — but The games tend to be great in also a construction kit that lets their own right, but can also users create and share their help you introduce children to own levels with a global community. Available exclusively a franchise you already love. for Sony PlayStation consoles.

• “Rock Band 4.” A full set of new instrument-like For ages 12 and Up peripherals can run into • “Cities: Skylines.” The hundreds of dollars, but Rock from top pop stars like Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran and Billie Eilish.

• “Overcooked 2.” Chaos and laughs emerge from the kitchen as up to four players try to cooperate to prepare and serve meals to ever more demanding customers.

Possible bonus: It may give children additional appreciation for their real-life personal chefs.

modern, sophisticated king of the city-building genre first popularized by SimCity, “Cities: Skylines” and its many expansions make urban planning and disaster recovery as difficult as you want to make them.

• “Forza” (Windows/ Xbox) and “Gran Turismo” (PlayStation) are the prestige racing franchises for their respective platforms. The racing may be virtual but the adrenaline is real.

• “7 Billion Humans.”

“Educational” games are usually a snooze, but “7 Billion Humans” teaches the basics of computer programming almost before you’ve noticed.

You control an Earth’s worth of mindless little people. Can you figure out the correct instructions so they can avoid their own destruction?

• “Sid Meier’s Civilization VI.” The classic “Civilization” series has long tasked the player with guiding a fledgling society from the Stone Age to the Space Age. The latest edition is an engaging successor for both adults and older children with an interest in strategy and history.

• “World of Warcraft.” If you want to go off on a long fantasy adventure in which you and your children will have to learn to work together and depend on one another, the venerable “World of Warcraft” still provides the most expansive and appropriate virtual realm. You will need multiple computers, however.

I suggest starting with the classic version and then graduating to the modern “retail” version if you get hooked.

E8 | THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020

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WEEKEND

E10 | THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

DINE & WINE

Distribution channels face challenges

R George Lenker Beer Nut

Tasting 2 doubles side by side

B

ELIEVE IT OR NOT, I usually don’t drink a lot of beer at home.

I have occasionally cracked open a can when need be, but mostly I enjoy draft beer and the social aspect of quaffing a few pints down at the local bar. (I drink whiskey at home more often, truth be told.)

Of course these days, we can’t do the latter, so I have been forced to do all my drinking at home. I’ve been getting curbside pickup from various places and delivery from stores when available.

So my fridge is pretty wellstocked right now, although somehow my cache keeps going down. (Insert guiltyface emoji.)

Two of my favorite beers (both local and both double IPAs) just happened to be available recently so I have both on hand currently — which gave me an idea: Why not do an A-B comparison of the two brews, since they’re the same style (and, in the interest of full disclosure, both made by friends).

The two beers I’m referring to here are the Northampton Brewery’s Mean Green and Building 8’s The Double. Now, of course I’ve had cans of each in my house before, but never at the same time. And

SEE BEER, PAGE E11

ESTAURANTS ARE closed or operating at sharply reduced levels while at the same time supermarkets are struggling to keep their shelves stocked. The logic of the free market would seem to dictate that the food not going into restaurant kitchens should be finding its way to where the demand is — the retail grocery business. That’s not the case, however.

Unfortunately the two distribution channels — food service and retail grocery — are separate and specialized from the point of production on down to the point of use, a business reality that leaves one channel — food service distribution — struggling while the parallel but separate distribution pipeline into grocery stores is overwhelmed by demand.

Sysco Corp. and US Foods, the two major specialists that service the commercial food service industry, have seen their business shrink dramatically over the past five weeks as schools, colleges, entertainment venues and restaurants have all closed down or dramatically curtailed their food preparation efforts.

While food service distributors have tried to shift some of their operations into retail grocery, the highly specialized product lines those distributors handle don’t easily translate into products for retail sale.

“Breaking bulk” is a big issue, with items for food service use typically packed in commercial-sizes lots.

What household wants to buy a jumbo can of tomatoes or a 12-pound box of bacon?

Repackaging those food products originally designed for institutional use would be prohibitively expensive and would put the product involved at risk of contamination.

US Foods has publicly acknowledged some efforts to divert its warehouse stock in the retail food distribution

Unfortunately the two distribution channels — food service and retail grocery — are separate and specialized from the point of production on down to the point of use, a business reality that leaves one channel — food service distribution — struggling while the parallel but separate distribution pipeline into grocery stores is overwhelmed by demand. excess product to food banks and charities; smaller specialist vendors that cater to the restaurant industry such as bakeries, cheese merchants, and the like are finding themselves struggling to simply stay in business.

includes delivery to one central location), the meals are available Monday through Friday with a different entree featured each day.

The program also has a $10 boxed meal option specially designed to meet the needs of medical professional and first Side dishes responders.

• The Delaney House and Organizations currently reHugh Robert the Log Cabin Banquet and ceiving and distributing meal Off The Menu Meetinghouse, both located donations include Baystate Health Systems, the Amherst in Holyoke, have created a Survival Center, Springfield system, but, like others in the meal donation program debusiness, its primary concern signed to provide sustenance and Holyoke first responders, and others. to organizations with essenis the estimated $24 billion tial employees or community Individuals wishing to in sales to restaurants that members struggling to gain fund a meal donation to the it and others are forecast access to fresh food. program can do so online at to lose over the next three Created by Peter Rossdelaneyhouse.com/feed months. kothen, one of the owners alocalhero.

The rapid loss of customer of the Delaney House-Log Contact Rosskothen at 413base “stay-at-home” and Cabin Group, “Feed a Local 530-6999 for more details “shutdown” orders have Hero/Someone in Need” pro- about becoming a site to caused a particular challenge when it comes to those vides individually packaged, receive donations. businesses that distribute ready-to-heat meals such as perishables like produce and stuffed shells, Gorgonzola • Participating Denny’s Restaurant locations dairy. Big wholesalers have beef, and chicken pot pie. have developed three meal been able to donate such Priced at $5 each (which “packs” designed for curbside pickup.

They include the Grand Slam Pack, which includes pancakes, scrambled eggs, breakfast meats, and hash browns; a Build Your Own Cheeseburger Pack that contains four cheeseburgers, fries, and toppings; and a Premium Chicken Tenders Pack that comes with fries and dipping sauces.

All three packs are designed to serve four to five people.

The Delaney House, above, and the Log Cabin Banquet and Meetinghouse, both located in Holyoke, have created a meal donation program, “Feed a Local Hero/Someone in Need,” designed to provide sustenance to organizations with essential employees or community members struggling to gain access to fresh food. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

• Social media platform Instagram has partnered with a Los Angeles-based delivery service, ChowNow, to add an “order food” button to the platform’s “Instagram Stories” feature.

ChowNow has a unique

SEE MENU, PAGE E12

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

WEEKEND

THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020 | E11

DINE & WINE

Who says you have to finish a bottle of wine right away?

Ignore the rules!

T

HERE ARE SO MANY SOcalled rules when it comes to wine.

Don’t drink red wine with

fish.

Don’t serve white wine with meat.

Don’t use a red wine glass for white wine.

Don’t saber a Champagne bottle with a Prussian sword before 5 o’clock.

Don’t do this, don’t do that. Don’t drink pinot grigio, don’t drink merlot.

It’s no wonder so many people drink beer instead.

All sorts of people come up with so many rules that everyone’s supposed to obey when it comes to wine.

Let me say right now for the record: Ignore the rules.

In fact, if anyone tells you certain rules when it comes to wine, run screaming for the hills.

Sure, there are lots of bad wines out there.

And there are lots of suggestions people can offer when it comes to wine.

But in most cases there are no rules.

Instead, wine should be fun.

Wine should be something you enjoy learning about and exploring throughout your life, not something you can “master” in an hour so you can impress people with your knowledge.

Not all pinot grigio or merlot

Beer

Ken Ross Wine Press

Earthy, robust, jammy, complex — I absolutely could not believe how stunning this wine tasted after the cork had been out of the bottle for months.

This wine still tasted great months after the bottle was opened and forgotten about on a shelf in the writer’s house. (KEN ROSS PHOTO)

No white wine with meat? Try a Chardonnay from the Cote De Beaune subregion in the southern part of Burgundy with turkey. It’s fantastic.

Only use certain glasses with certain wines? Let me tell you, in France, no one seems to care about these rules, wines are bad, no matter what some especially Champagne makers who so-called wine snob says. (I won’t say often drink their wines in so-called who but I read such malarkey recently white wine glasses. in an interview with a so-called wine As for never sabering a Champagne expert.) In fact, some of the best wines bottle with a Prussian sword before 5 in the world (particularly from Boro’clock? Seriously? If you believe that, deaux’s “right bank” region in France) I have a bridge I can sell you. are made with merlot grapes.

Another wine rule I have had drilled And if someone tells you to NEVER into my head by all the so-called exdrink red wine with fish, tell them pi- perts? You must finish a bottle of wine not noir (especially from Burgundy or within a day or two after you open it.

Oregon or Canada’s British Columbia Otherwise, the wine will lose all its region) goes great with salmon. flavor.

to declare the victor. I don’t enjoy arts awards shows for this same reason.) It’s just CONTINUED FROM PAGE E10 going to be a comparison because I don’t usually keep between two great beers. a lot of beer on hand at home, Mean Green pours a somethe chances of that happening what cloudy orange hue and most times were not great. But offers a great hop profile that combines pine notes with we have to look for whatever some citrus in a tantalizing silver linings we can find in these troubled times, so this is way. There is definitely some grassiness there as well, all one of mine.

I really enjoy both these supported by a subtle caramel brews, so this isn’t going to malt structure. I think the be a contest with a “winner.” earthiness that results as it (This is partly because I don’t lingers on the palate is what I like that sort of thing when it like best. comes to anything but sports The alcohol aspect is not with actual measurable data that evident and it’s not super

Now let me add that I have been a firm believer in this rule for many years.

I can’t tell you the number of times I have had wines that have completely lost all their character after being open for a few hours or even less.

It’s the reason why some people like myself keep a close eye on the cork in the bottle to make sure it’s firmly lodged back in the bottle after being opened. Otherwise, the wine might lose its bouquet.

I know I sound a bit precious, but it’s true.

Wine is made from grapes.

And in many cases many wines lose their aroma and their flavors when the bottle is left open for too long.

gland style, though) that stand up to any doubles anywhere.

Note: I must mention that last week I may have grabbed the last four-packs of The Double for the foreseeable future, so you probably can’t grapefruit underpinnings of replicate this tasting right Mean Green. The Double also now. Mean Green is available, though, and here is a little is slightly higher in alcohol, secret that O’Brian Tomalin at about 8.2%. My favorite of Building 8 told me: While aspect here is the clean, the most recent version of The thirst-quenching aspect that many doubles don’t have due Double is sold out, he got back some kegs from distributors to their booziness. because bars aren’t open to Either way, you can’t go wrong, in my book. These are sell it. And he plans on bottling it and making it available two great doubles in a more East Coast style (not New En- in half-growlers. Stay tuned.

Either way, you can’t go wrong, in my book.

These are two great doubles in a more East Coast style (not New England style, though) that stand up to any doubles anywhere. boozy, at about 7.5% alcohol by volume. It’s definitely bitter in the best of ways.

The Double, on the other hand, packs a big citrus punch, some solid pine aspects but not as earthy. The malt is more bread-like, but less evident than in Mean Green. The Double also has more of an orangish undertone, as compared to the

SEE WINE, PAGE E12

WEEKEND

E12 | THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020

Menu

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

Call 413-733-7700 for more Gourmet in Westfield also information or to place an has a wine-with-dinner bundle available. order.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE E10 The restaurant is proand, from the perspective moting “2 for Two” dinner • Teresa’s Restaurant of independent restaurants, packages, with typical selecin Ware is taking advantage attractive business model. of temporary changes in the tions such as crazy Alfredo, Instead of charging an eatery alcoholic beverage licensing meatballs with pasta, lasagna, and pasta with teriyaki a large commission on each • Chez Josef in Agawam laws by promoting a “Wine delivery order (sometimes has added some sizzle to & Pizza” option with takeout cream sauce. The dinner • Cafe Christo on Belmont Avenue in Springfield is and delivery. packages include choice of as much as 30% of the tab), its program of “Fresh Eats” another independent operaChowNow only requires that family meals to go, offering Customers can add wine to two soups or salads, and restaurants pay a reasonable themed selections on various tion that’s keeping its kitchen their order and get a $10 per selected bottles of wine are open to produce takeout only $12 when ordered with monthly fee per location. days of the week. bottle discount.

Participating restaurants A recent Wednesday menu meals, having extended its dinners to go.

Teresa’s has also been docan add an “order food” ing its part to thank medical was built around the premise evening hours.

Takeout hours at Emma’s button to their Instagram personnel, treating the staff that “everything’s better in a The cafe is now providing Everyday Gourmet are Monday through Saturday 3 to 9 dinner takeout Tuesday Story; the button transfers at Ware’s Baystate Mary bowl,” with selections such p.m.; the restaurant answers through Saturday from 4 to 6 Lane Hospital to deliveries the user to a restaurant’s or- as a teriyaki salmon bowl, a dering app, which ChowNow chicken-bacon ranch bowl, p.m. Typical main-meal spe- of complimentary pizza and at 413-642-3221 cials, which include side and Italian buffet meals. provides. and a Santa Fe steak bowl Though currently billed as part of that day’s offerings. salad, are pork loin AmaretHugh Robert is a faculty Teresa’s is open until 8 a short-term effort during “Taco Tuesday” choices to, penne Amatriciana, and p.m., offering takeout as well member in Holyoke Commuthe pandemic, look for Insta- included Greek tacos filled Cajun grilled chicken. as delivery in the Ware area. nity College’s hospitality and gram’s “order food” button culinary arts program and has with gyro beef and crispy Grinders are available, and Call 413-967-7601 for daily to become a permanent nearly 45 years of restaurant chicken tacos made with the restaurant is also offerspecials and more informaing its entire breakfast and tion. fixture on that social media and educational experience. buttermilk-fried chicken. lunch menu from 8:30 a.m. platform. ChowNow and Robert can be reached online at Mexican rice, black beans, to 2:30 p.m.

• Emma’s Everyday Instagram both undoubtedly and homemade churros for OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.

Wine

see the “order food” button as a way to gain and grow a foothold in the restaurant food delivery business space.

ChowNow can be found online at get.chownow. com.

Maybe garnacha grapes have some sort of magical preservative in them.

Maybe it was because we keep our house at around 60 degrees or less most of the time.

Maybe it was because I’m simply desperate to taste something different after being quarantined for more than a month.

All I know is that this Spanish red wine tasted out of this world after sitting in an open bottle for months in our living room.

So if anyone tries to tell you various rules about wine — including how long you have to drink a bottle after you open it — send them my way and I’ll be more than happy to debate them on the finer points of what it takes to be a so-called wine expert.

Because in my book, all that matters is that you enjoy wine and have an open mind to its amazing possibilities.

Cheers!

Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republican’s weekend section every Thursday.

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went into another room, found the bottle and started looking at the label.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE E11 As I tilted the bottle to the I can’t tell you how many side to read the wine label times I have tasted wines more carefully, some of the that have been open for a few wine started to spill out of hours that tasted completely the bottle on the carpet. flat (no aroma, no character) What the...??? after the cork has been taken I looked inside the bottle out of the bottle. and realized there was about That’s why I was complete- a third of the wine still in the ly blown away when my wife bottle. and I tasted an open bottle of At that point, I was pretty wine that had been accidenannoyed. This is one of my tally sitting on a shelf in our favorite wineries from Spain. house for months without And I figured I had wasted the cork in the bottle. about $20 worth of good The only reason I knew wine. there was any wine in the Then my wife and I tried bottle was because I was the wine. talking about the wine with We were stunned. my dad on the phone.

Months after the wine had I was telling him about this been opened, months after Spanish red wine my wife the cork had been removed and I really enjoyed a few from the bottle, this 100% months ago, 2011 Alto Mongarnacha wine still tasted cayo ($39.99 at Table & Vine great. in West Springfield) from the Earthy, robust, jammy, Campo De Borja region in complex — I absolutely could northern Spain. not believe how stunning this My dad asked exactly wine tasted after the cork where the wine was from in had been out of the bottle for Spain. so long.

Fortunately, I’m a borderMaybe it was because this line hoarder so we still had particular wine can withstand even the most chalthe bottle in our house.

I got up from the couch, lenging conditions.

dessert were also part of the taco package price.

Daily menu features at Chez Josef are posted on the venue’s Facebook page, facebook.com/ChezJosef.

The telephone number is 413-786-0257.