Thursday A.M. Hot Clicks
RIP, James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini :: Bob Riha Jr/Getty Images
If you've come to Hot Clicks today for sports stuff, here's what you need to know:
* NBC's Austin, Texas affiliate missed the Blackhawks' game-winning overtime goal against the Bruins last night ... because they accidentally cut to a network promo.
* Joe Torre's daughter saved a one-year-old boy who had fallen out of a second-story window.
* One NFL writer got into a Twitter fight with Urkel while another NFL reporter got into a Twitter fight with a mascot.
If you came here for a Lovely Lady of the Day, you can check out these brand news pics of SI Swimsuit model Chrissy Teigen on GQ.com.
With that out of the way, we can now pay tribute to James Gandolifini, who passed away yesterday at 51. I'm not qualified to sit here and properly sum up Gandolfini's career and legacy. For that, I strongly suggest you read what his co-workers have said about him, Alan Sepinwall's column, this piece from Slate.com and/or this remembrance from GQ.
The only perspective I can give you is this: The Sopranos is my all-time favorite television show. Tony Soprano is my all-time favorite television character, and no actor has done a better job portraying a character than James Gandolfini. If you want to say other actors have been just as good, that's fine. Nobody, though, was better. Here is a little trip down memory lane. WARNING: ALL VIDEOS CONTAIN STRONG LANGUAGE AND MOST HAVE VIOLENCE.
The Sunday dinners were a staple of The Sopranos. Many times they ended up being the best scenes in an episode because you had several characters together and things ended up heated, which anyone who has Sunday family dinners can understand.
http://youtu.be/sGK_uL3OeBU
Food played an enormous role in Tony's life. Yes, he loved his cold cuts and ziti, but he had varied tastes.
He loved his cereal, but could also make it fly across the room when Janice pissed him off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKp2-6EMbI8
He became obsessed with sushi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k3SefavHJM
He fantasized about Lo Mein.
http://youtu.be/BwsaoOCYoGA
He liked his orange juice with SOME pulp.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMppEcSRAbM
The biggest staple in Tony's diet, though, might have been ice cream. Normally, he had the bowl propped on his chest with his feet up while he watched television.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x70dYtTJXt4
Perhaps the best compliment we can give James Gandolfini is that despite ...
Killing Ralphie.
http://youtu.be/-x5uO2NyWOQ
Killing Tony Blundetto.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9lbju1WpsQ
And killing Big Pussy.
http://youtu.be/HlJCE_3rHVw
We loved him anyway. And we especially loved his relationship with Carmela. Sure, they had some tense therapy sessions.
http://youtu.be/VNSrJ1qfaQQ
And there was the temporary breakup, which produced the greatest scene in the show's history.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV-D5SvQnF0&feature=youtu.be
But we always loved hearing him say "Carm" and wanted them together despite their highly dysfunctional relationship.
To figure out how Gandolfini was able to pull that off, watch him out on Inside the Actor's Studio.
http://youtu.be/UpRTIl9bHlk
Or to see him with his cast members outside of an episode of The Sopranos, check out this David Letterman Top 10 List.
http://youtu.be/srZdMGmMuck
Of course, we can only the end the tribute with one video.
