A Weekend of Endings?

Originally published in BostonNow.

There are two sides to The Sopranos. Some episodes are your good old fashioned, off a guy and scatter the appendages throughout New Jersey mob drama. Other episodes are more cerebral. Lots of therapist face time and ho-hum household tension.

It seems like the final season has been a little heavier on the cerebral side which is surprising when you consider there are only two episodes left. It's been like watching a firecracker fuse burn: you know the big boom is coming and the anticipation might just be better than the actual release.

We're about to find out if we've got an M80 or an inch-and-a-halfer, which got me thinking: what's the body count going to look like over these last two episodes? I'm not so sure it will be the shootout everyone thinks it is, but let's break it down:

-- Tony - Popular opinion seems to say that Tony's death is the only logical end and I tend to agree but I'd actually be more interested if the series ended with the Skipper still heavily mouth-breathing. Nevertheless, my money in the Black Hand Stakes is on Carm. After turning a blind eye to Tony's lifestyle the entire series, the revelation that Tony killed Christopher and Adriana will be too much to deal with. The perfect crime and catharsis.

--Phil Leotardo - Did you see the look Tony gave him at the end of the episode last night while Phil was yelling out his window like a little girl? He's gone.

--Paulie - He's just too big of a prick not to meet an ugly and (un?)timely fate. It's actually a miracle he's made it this long. Probably gone before the final episode.

--Silvio - The rock. I think Silvio escapes a dirt nap, but the preview for the penultimate episode led me to believe that he might turn on Tony. If that happens, goodbye Sil.

-- A.J. - The wildcard. The fate of Tony's heir might be the most interesting arc left. His time to die was last night and he escaped so I think he's safe unless things get totally Shakespearean.

Throw in a couple of random goons and I'm setting the body count over/under for the final two episodes of The Sopranos at 8.5.

The Battle for Nebraska

I count myself a fan of interleague play. Sure, I wish there was a little more variance in the schedule. I can think of about 20 teams I would rather see the Red Sox play than the Braves again, and that's always the beef from the traditionalists. For every Subway (or El Train) series, there's a Washington v. anybody match-up that just isn't that interesting.

Who cares who Toronto plays? What's at stake between San Diego and Seattle? I don't know, but to lump tonight's Royals-Rockies match-up in that same unsavory group would be a grave mistake. The fate of an entire state is at stake.

When it comes to professional baseball, Nebraska is a vast wasteland. (Insert your own "when it comes to baseball?!" joke here.) Before the Rockies came around, Kansas City was the only team that could be considered a regional interest, but outside of places like Nebraska City, even that was a stretch.

Then Eric Young ushered in the Rockies era with a home run and the Western half of the state had a team to root for that was less than 10 hours away; games they could hear on the radio, or even attend. Ever since, the state's been divided somewhere around the 100th Meridian. Half purple, half blue, or at least that's how it exists in my mind.

So you see, this isn't just some nondescript interleague series between perennial bottom-feeders. This is for bragging rights for an entire season in the Good Life. This is to get a Runza at the winning team's stadium and gain total commercial control of both I-80 and the North Platte and Niobrara Rivers. This is for Grover Cleveland Alexander, the greatest hardballer ever to call the Cornhusker state home.

It's also to ensure that the winner won't have the worst record in their league come Saturday.

The tension is palpable.