Braves Extend Chipper

After failing to land a few of their target free agents this offseason (A.J. Burnett, Rafael Furcal, Ken Griffey Jr.) and losing long-time ace John Smoltz, the Braves have gotten something right just before opening day on Sunday.

The Braves have given Chipper Jones a contract extension that should allow him to finish his career in Atlanta. Chipper is the team leader and the soul of the Atlanta lineup. He was upset in seeing Smoltz leave only a few years after having to watch Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux do the same.

Its great for fans to know that they won't have to watch Chipper in a Yankees or Red Sox jersey to finish off his great career. Good move Frank Wren (Atlanta GM).

NFL Preseason Schedule Announced, Saints Announce Training Camp Site

The NFL has released its preseason schedule. The Saints will open up the preseason at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. They are then on the road for the next two preseason games, at the Houston Texans and the Oakland Raiders. They finish the preseason the same way they have the last couple of years against the Miami Dolphins at home.

The Saints also announced that they're going to stay home this year for training camp. After three years in Jackson, Miss., they've decided to stay home and train in Metairie. This makes a lot of sense for the team, especially after all the money that was spent on their training facility and indoor practice facility. With the current economic times, it's also more beneficial than having to transform a small college into training camp.

More on "He's Our You", The Future Changed?

Here's an awesome Lost recap blog that I usually check out, but this week he posts some intriguing speculation. Prepare for your mind to be blown:

Tonight’s ending definitely qualifies as “unpredictable.” The single act of Ben Linus dying would easily set off a series of events in which course correction could not totally overcome the effects of that one death. To wit: Ben never becomes the leader of the Others. So there’s no power struggle with Widmore. So Desmond never arrives on the scene. So Oceanic 815 never lands. So Jin can never go back in time to stop Danielle Rousseau from going into the Temple. So Danielle never, ever changes the signal from the radio tower, which explains why we heard The Numbers as Lapidus tries to land the plane on Hydra Island.

Now, the big question remains on whether Ben did or could even die in 1977, but if he did, Sun and Frank are in for a surprise on the island in present day.

He's Our You

I don't have much to say about "He's Our You." Sure it was another solid episode that continued to show that season 5 may go down as the best season of Lost since season 1, but basically it just filled in some holes in Sayid's backstory. Up until the end, the entire episode had the feel of filler, but what fun filler it was.

He went back in time and shot Hitler
Let's start at the end, which is what most fans will focus on anyway. Anytime a TV show or movie focuses on time travel, one of the first questions they address is whether or not you can go back and kill Hitler. Well, we're about to see if that could happen in the Lost universe, since Sayid basically went back and killed the baddest guy on the island, one Ben Linus.

While the ending was meant to surprise, with last week's episode teasers and Sayid figuring out his purpose for being back in 1977 after meeting young Ben, there wasn't much surprise in him shooting Ben. It was still an amazing scene and a tough one to watch. After Sayid saw the life Ben had with his abusive father and how nice Ben had been to him in helping him escape, he still put a bullet in his chest.

I wasn't surprised he shot at him, but I expected him to miss (kind of like when Sawyer was shot at in "LaFleur") or for the bullet not to do anything (like when Michael couldn't kill himself). At any rate, Sayid definitely should have checked if he was dead.

We still need the show to address if these events always took place in DHARMA past or if this is a new time line. If this were Back to the Future, 2008 Ben would disappear. I don't think that will be the case, but I don't think Ben's dead either. So did teenage Ben always get shot in 1977? That is the question.

For those wonder what Sayid's motive would be in shooting Ben, just look at Sayid's flashbacks, look at his life off the island ... look at the crap Benry put the 815ers through on the island. If Sayid thinks all of that could be avoided, then why not shoot him?

More on Ben
Young Ben hates his life in the DHARMA initiative. His father puts him through hell. What a deadbeat dad Roger has proven to be. Look at the way he treated Ben when he found out he'd been bringing Sayid food.

The only thing keeping Ben going is the idea that he'll get to go live with the Hostiles. He lets Sayid know that he met Richard 4 years ago (so 1973, the year before LaFleur and company flashed to the past), and he's waiting his time, being patient.

He sprang Sayid from the joint, in hopes that it was his time to go with the Hostiles. Too bad he didn't see the real motive behind Sayid's actions.

Go Live Your Life
We are filled in on Sayid completing his work for Ben. Once he made his last kill in Moscow, Ben deemed that the Oceanic 6 are safe and Sayid could go about living his life. This devestated Sayid, as he didn't have a life to go back to. Ben said that all the people Sayid had killed were part of Widmore's group, so can we assume Widmore is The Economist? Were all those people really working for Widmore or did Ben set up the whole thing? (were those people ones that Ben had issues with or just people Ben located for Sayid to knock off?)

Sayid goes on to work for a Habitat for Humanity-type organization, when Ben meets up with him. Apparently Sayid was in hiding, but Ben was able to find him. He tells Sayid about Locke being dead and says that he was murdered, alluding that the Oceanic 6 are in trouble again. Ben tells Sayid about the man outside Hurley's institution (the man Sayid ends up killing). Again, I question whether Ben put the guy outside Hurley's room himself. Sayid refuses to go back to helping Ben.

To Flight 316
We were filled in on the events that put Sayid on Ajira Flight 316 as well. After the arguement at the marina from "This Place is Death," Sayid is drowning his sorrows with $120 per glass MacCutchen Whiskey (Charles Widmore's favorite). He meets Ilana, who double-crosses him and plans to bring him to Guam for the murder of Peter Avellino, the guy Sayid killed on the golf course.

She leads him to the airport and before they board Flight 316, Sayid sees Hurley, Jack and Kate. He doesn't want to get on the plane because he knows it's not going to end up in Guam. Ilana refuses to change flights. After seeing Sun and Ben onboard, Sayid is convinced that Ben set up the whole thing, but Ilana doesn't seem to know who Ben Linus is. Looks like it's just bad luck for Sayid ... of was it fate?

Trouble in Paradise
Looks like Juliette's not feeling Jack and Kate being back, and she can tell that their return is eating at Sawyer too. Juliette enjoys the life that she and Sawyer made for themselves and the return of Jack and Kate is throwing a big wrench in their lives.

Funny that Kate learned of Juliette/Sawyer from Hurley, who always gets some of the best lines. Sawyer went to see Kate to find out why they returned (after Sayid had figured out his purpose ... killing young Ben). Kate's not back to kill Ben. She said she didn't know why the rest came back, but before she was able to tell sawyer why she came back (which we assume is for him), a flaming DHARMA van comes through the barracks courtesy of one Ben Linus.

Other Tidbits
"He's Our You" refers to Oldham, who like Sayid was a torturer. But Oldham used drugs to get the truth out of Sayid. It was funny when Sayid gave them the truth and none of them believed what they were hearing because it was so far-fetched. Oldham figured he'd given him too much of the drug.

What song was that playing on Oldham's phonograph? Was that the same song that Hurley and Sayid heard back in season two (the one where Sayid said the transmission could be coming from anywhere and Hurley said or any time)?

The book that Ben brings to Sayid is "A Separate Reality."

Did you catch the mentioning of Ann Arbour during the vote on whether or not to kill Sayid? Ann Arbour is home of the University of Michigan, where the DeGroots founded DHARMA.

On the vote, it surprised me that Sawyer would go along with the rest and vote to kill Sayid. He'd been adimately against it, but changed his mind so Horace could say it was unanimous. Hmm.

Its always great to see Uncle Rico, aka Roger "Workman" Linus, but man was he a jerk.

Next on Lost: "Whatever Happened, Happened"

*Photos from GetLostPodcastMedia.com

Lost Mysteries: Charlotte's Age

Ever since Faraday saw a red head little girl running around the DHARMA barracks in 1974, fans have been asking the question, how is that possible? You see, in season 4's "Confirmed Dead," Ben rattles off information about Charlotte, specifically mentioning that she was born in 1979 in Essex, England. Well, we later learned that she wasn't born in England, but had grown up on the island. So could Ben have been wrong about her birth year as well?

Turns out, it was just a mistake by the Lost producers. Earlier this week, the producers pinned the blame on Rebbecca Mader in their weekly podcast, but they have since taken responsibility. More on the whole fiasco can be found at EW.com, who did the investigative work in clearing up the mess.

There you have it fans. The Lost team does make mistakes. So as we continue to analyze everything said and in the background on Lost, remember that sometimes that blurry blond girl really is just part of the crew who shouldn't have been caught by the camera.

A Random Lost Thought

Here's a random thought I had about Namaste:

Just after the flash that brought Kate, Jack and Hurley to 1977, the plane arrives in island territory. It jumps from night time to daylight. Now, we know that there's a 31 minute time difference on the island and off it from Daniel's experiment in The Economist. Well, why did they jump to day time? I've been assuming that the plane crashed in present time, more specifically 2007 (as the show said ... it said 33 years earlier when it went back to 1977), so why the night/day difference? Did the plane move through time or is the island just on its own day/night schedule?

It's probably not that big a deal, but it could be one of those subtle ways that Lost shows us that there's more going on than fans pick up on the surface. You never can tell.

Here's something else interesting that someone caught when the plane crash landed. The numbers are heard on the radio as they land, but Rousseau changed the message. Hmm.

Bracket Busted

Congratulations to LSU on a great season. They just didn't have enough left to take down the South Region #1 team, North Carolina on Saturday. The Tigers fell 84-70.

The Tigers gave the Tar Heels everything they could handle, but Ty Lawson took over the second half, and that was all she wrote. It didn't help that LSU had about a five minute scoring drought toward the end of the game. But for 32 minutes, LSU did everything right.

It will be a tough offseason, as the Tigers are losing some of their top players. But fans should feel good about what Trent Johnson is building. This won't be the pattern of the John Brady Tigers, where a tournament appearance was followed by and NIT berth, or no postseason at all.

LSU Advances

LSU beat Butler 75-71 in the first round (actually the first game played, besides the meaningless Play-In Game) of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. The Tigers will now get to face the South Region #1 team, North Carolina on Saturday.

North Carolina defeated Radford 101-58. LSU is a long shot to beat UNC, but stranger things have happened. If Marcus Thornton gets hot and LSU's defense can slow down the Tarheels and keep them from getting second chance points, the game may go LSU's way.

At any rate, it's been a great first year for Trent Johnson. LSU won the SEC and advanced in the NCAA Tournament. Not bad for a team that only won 13 games last year.

Namaste

"Namaste" showed us what happened to the Ajira flight just before semi-crashing on the Hydra island. The episode updated viewers on the what happened to Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid in the past and Sun, Frank, Ben and the rest of 316's passengers in the present (?). Other than that, the episode didn't provide much. Details in this one were more of the one line variety, as the episode seemed to be setting up the rest of the season.

Time Travel Gives Me A Headache
As Jack said, I don't know where to begin. I've enjoyed the time travel this season, but it's getting more and more confusing now that the 815ers are stuck in 1977. The biggest mystery that's still out there about time travel is are they changing the past? Basically, were Sawyer, Miles, Juliette and now Jack, Kate and Hurley always a part of the DHARMA Initiative or has the past been rewritten? There's a lot that will hinge on this revelation.

From what we've seen on the show and what the producers have said before about the future being set in stone, I can't see that past being changed either. My guess is that they were always a part of DHARMA. Its weird to buy into this though because it seems like the 815ers would have come across some trace of themselves in 2004 then. (like the 1977 picture of the new recruits. Remember, Jack, Kate, Locke and others spent plenty of time in Othersville. They would have surely seen themselves in the photo.)

If they are changing the past, then what does that mean for the events that took place in 2004 and beyond. Or since 1974 for that matter. Will the purge still occur? Will Ben still become the leader of the Others? Questions, questions, questions.

Young Benjamin
It was fun to see young Ben once again, but his meeting with Sayid really cranked up the are they changing the past question. Think about it, Ben met Sayid in 1977. All their interactions on the island and off it now take on a whole new perspective. Did Ben remember meeting Sayid when Sayid tortured him in season 2's "One of Them?" Did Ben always know Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sawyer and Sayid? Was that why they were on his list (besides Sayid) and captured during the season 2 finale, "Live Together, Die Alone?"

If the past is now being changed, will Ben all of a sudden gain memory of meeting Sayid in 1977, ala Desmond remembering meeting Daniel outside the Swan three years after he left the island? If so, what are the implications of Ben remembering this?

New Otherton
Lastly on the time travel front, did you get a good look at the DHARMA Barracks when Frank and Sun visited them in, what we can assume is present, time. The building were in shambles and dusty and overgrown. The dock was pretty messed up and the buildings were in bad shape. This is presumably only three years since the 815ers occupied those barracks. Keamy and his crew did a number on them, but would they be in that bad of shape only three years later.

Are we to assume that Sun and Frank are further in the future or that maybe Sawyer and company changed the future. Were those barracks unoccupied longer than we think? Did the Others never move into them after DHARMA was purged? More to ponder as we continue season 5.

Sun and Frank meet up with Jack's dad, and he let's them know what happened to Hurley, Kate and Jack and where Jin is on the island. He shows them the photo of the 1977 new recruits to DHARMA and tells them they have a long journey ahead. How are they going to get to 1977 or are they going to have to bring them to the present? Will they have to turn the wheel again to get the island to start flashing through time once again? Without Faraday there to help them, as the time travel expert, will they be successful?

Returning Characters
We finally get to meet the famous Radzinsky in "Namaste." He's working at the Flame, and what's that he's working on...oh, it's just the model for the Swan Station. YES! Not only did Radzinsky provide one of the biggest pieces of Lost lore with the blast door map, but he helped design the station that ultimately led him to turn a shotgun on himself. Now, if he's one of the guys behind the Swan, then how much did he really know about the island and DHARMA when he recruited Kelvin? Seems like he's running around freely in 1977, so why was the blast door map so secretive? What happened that made him so paranoid while he was working the Swan. (Another blogger pointed out that Pierre Chang is wearing a Swan logo, but the Swan station wasn't built yet).

The Swan must be one of the more important stations on the island, as it looks like DHARMA is trying to keep its location a secret to the Hostiles/Others. This is one of the reasons why Radzinsky wants to off Sayid, when they stumble across him. There's just so much more to Radzinsky and this was only the tip of the iceberg. He's been a shady, yet important character for years on the show, but viewers are still left to wonder why he killed himself? Why he edited the Swan film? Why he created the blast door map? Where did Kelvin bury him?

Another character return in "Namaste," Ethan Rom, or is it Ethan Goodspeed? We learn that Horace and Amy's baby is named Ethan. This news surprises Juliette, but not so much the audience. It was actually a let down for me. Fans have been speculating for the past two weeks who the baby would be. Guesses have ranged from Desmond to Boone to Jacob to Ethan. While its cool to see the connection Ethan had on the island, will this reveal come into play anymore? Ethan was killed by Charlie and besides knowing that he was born on the island as part of DHARMA, is there anything more to his story? Maybe this explains his seemingly superhuman strength that he showed in season 1.

Sawyer's Leading His Way
We got a killer scene when Jack went to visit LaFleur (Is anyone else worried that the other sucurity guy is getting suspicious already?). Sawyer laid it out for Jack and showed him who's in charge now. Sawyer thinks before he acts and his leadership style/ability kills Jacks 7-days a week. Basically, Sawyer could have just looked Jack in the eyes and said, "Boom! Roasted." Actually, Sawyer's choice of job for Jack, Workman, was a pretty good roasted moment as well.

Other Tidbits
Another big question left, what happened to Faraday? When Jack asks if Faraday's there, Sawyer says not anymore. Does he mean physically or mentally? Daniel could have gone insane from what we've heard about him from Charlotte. Also, are there any other theories that he has about what they can/can't change or was Sawyer just talking about the "what happened happened" theory?

I guess the Others got that runway finished. Did Ben know that that's how he'd return to the island one day?

After the flight crashed, we see Ben walking around, taking off his arm sling like nothings wrong. But we soon learn how he ended up with the injured people, courtesy of one Sun paddle to the head.

I don't get how these people can buy into time travel so easily. If you show up somewhere you've been before and someone tells you it's 1977, I would have a lot more questions. They kind of just roll with it.

You can already feel the tension building with Sawyer/Jack and Kate/Juliette. It's weird to think about, but Sawyer has been with Juliette for three years. He only knew Kate for 108 days, yet we all feel that he'll screw it all up and try to get back with freckles.

Claire?

The DarkUFO Lost blog also found this interesting tidbit on the 1977 photo. Check out the missing person from when they took the picture to the actual photo Christian shows Sun. Is this just a prop mistake or could the missing guy be more important (unphotographable?...Jacob?).

Update: Another thing I noticed is that when they tell Sawyer and Jin about everyone else on the plane, they don't mention Ben. Jack says Sayid, Lapidis and Sun. I wonder if they're going to let Sawyer know that they brought Ben along?

Next on Lost: "He's Our You"

*Photos from GetLostPodcastMedia.com

Saints Sign Safety Darren Sharper

The Saints have filled their most glaring hole on the roster with the addition of free safety Darren Sharper. The move has been in the works for weeks and was finally agreed to yesterday.

Sharper, along with MLB Jonathan Vilma, will be the "quarterback" of the Saints defense. New defensive coordinator Gregg Williams relies on those two positions to call out plays and audibles and put everyone in the right position on the field. With Williams implementing a new scheme, having a veteran free safety was a priority, especially with the Saints struggles at the position in recent years.

With Sharper's signing, the Saints have no really open holes in the starting offense or defense. These leaves them in great position heading into the draft, with the ability to truly look at the best player available, regardless of position.

They will still need to look at the safety position, however. Sharper is 33-years-old and his best days are behind him. He can be a stop-gap at the position for a couple of seasons, but the team needs to find its future starting safety. That could come later in this year's draft (there aren't any projected first round safeties this year, unless you count Malcolm Jenkins, who is a corner but may play safety in the pros). But in the meantime, Sharper will improve one of the weakest areas on the team.

Preview "Namaste"

Lost returns tonight after a week layoff. So what's ahead in "Namaste?" Checkout Doc Jensen's preview at EW.com and get pumped. (Warning, mild spoilers about characters that will pop up tonight)

Going Dancing

After winning the SEC outright, having the AP SEC Coach of the Year and Player of the Year and the SEC Coaches Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, it's safe to assume that this was a successful season for the LSU basketball team. So what does LSU get for its success this year? A trip to the NCAA Tournament as an 8-seed.

The Tigers get to travel to North Carolina to take on the #22 ranked Butler Bulldogs. Oh, and if LSU beats the team that is only one spot below them in the AP poll, they'll have a date with #2 North Carolina...in North Carolina. Talk about a huge mountain to climb.

Overall, the SEC was said to be down as a conference and the selection committee took that to heart. Only three SEC teams were selected for the Big Dance. LSU, the conference champ, got the 8th seed, Tennessee got a 9 and SEC Tournament champion Mississippi State sits as a 13 seed. While the conference was down, these seeding are a joke. LSU should have been a 6 or 7 at the worst, but they played themselves into an 8 by going on a skid to end the season. Mississippi State got no respect as a 13. Now, the only way to show the rest of the nation that the SEC was better than believed is to pull off a few wins and none would be more impressive than LSU beating North Carolina (a tournament favorite) in the second round in the Tarheels backyard.

But LSU can't look ahead just yet. Butler is no slouch and has been a surprise team in the NCAA Tournment before. It all gets started Thursday morning. What a great time of year!

NFL Draft Order Released

The NFL has released the complete seven round draft order for the upcoming NFL Draft.

Here are the Saints picks:

Round 1: Pick 14
Round 2: Pick traded to NY Giants (Pick 13, Selection 45)
Round 3: Pick traded to NY Jets (Pick 12, Selection 76)
Round 4: Pick 16 & Pick 18 (from NY Jets)
Round 5: Pick traded to NY Giants (Pick 15)
Round 6: Pick traded to Green Bay (Pick 14)
Round 7: Pick 13

LaFleur

We've reached the half-way point of Lost season 5, so I guess it's time to step back and take a breather. This week's episode "LaFleur" didn't knock us over with craziness we come to expect this season (besides that shot of one infamous statue) ... well, as uncrazy as getting stuck in the DHARMA '70s could be, but it was still an episode that delivered the goods.

Now it's time to step back and take a look at the chess board that Lost has laid out for us, as we have two weeks until the next episode.

The StatueThe last flash before Locke turns the donkey wheel takes the group back to an ancient time on the island, a time when the four-toed statue was whole. WOW! This is what Lost fans have been waiting for. So what did you think? Do you think the statue delivered? There's been many theories on who/what the statue would be, anything from Locke to Sawyer to Richard to Jacob. But it appears to be some sort of Egyptian god.

I won't even pretend to know much about ancient Egypt, but we've seen a number of hieroglyphics on the island and it's been alluded to that the island has a long history. Many fans have speculated that the statue is Anubis, a god of the afterlife who guards the underworld. Makes sense in the grand scheme of Lost. Now the question is will we see the statue again? With the way the plot is unfolding, I doubt it, but you never know with this show.

Locke Did It
After Locke turns the wheel, the island quits skipping, and the record is turning again. This leaves the group in the DHARMA '70s, 1974 to be exact. This explains a few scenes we've already seen: Faraday at the building of the Orchid in "Because You Left" and Jin finding Jack, Kate and Hugo in "316."

The Truce
Sawyer and company come across Amy being harassed by a couple hostiles (The Others). They've killed her husband and put a bag over her head. Sawyer saves her, with help from Juliette's dead aim, but Amy freaks out because the DHARMA people hace a truce with the hostiles. Since they killed the two men, they'd have to bury the bodies and carry her dead husband back to the barracks. Why did the hostiles draw first blood? If there's such a strong truce between the groups, why were they harassing Amy and killing her husband?

Amy was suspicious of Sawyer's group from the start, and she tricked them into walking through the sonic fence. When Sawyer awakes he tells Horace Goodspeed, the apparent leader of on-island DHARMA, the tale of them looking for the Black Rock and being shipwrecked on the island. He tells him his name is James LaFleur, but Horace wants them to leave on the sub in the morning. Horace tells Sawyer that he isn't DHARMA material. Ouch. Does Horace know that they are lying or did he just sense that Sawyer wasn't a good person?

The Ageless One
Richard Alpert visits the DHARMA compound wanting to find out why the truce was broken. Sawyer is granted the chance to speak to him and what a conversation the two have. Richard has seen some weird stuff in his days on the island, but this time traveling group keeps popping up in his life. Sawyer asks him if they buried the Jughead bomb and immediately has Richard's undivided attention. He then drops the bombshell on him about Locke walking into his camp and then disappearing. They then make a deal so that Richard can bring Paul's body back to his camp to prove the truce is still on.

This buys the group more time on the island. Horace tells them they get two more weeks to look for their crew (ie, wait for Locke to come back). Juliette's ready to leave though since she's been trying to get off the island for years now. Sawyer convinces her to stay for two more weeks while they wait for Locke to return. As Juliette points out, why is Sawyer so convinced that Locke's coming back? As far as they know, he succeeded in saving them. The flashes stop as did the nosebleeds and headaches.

The LaFleurs
Two weeks turned into three years, and the group is entrenched in DHARMA life. Sawyer is head of security (as the intimidating LaFleur, as his security workers were scared to wake him at 3 a.m. when Horace was drunk and playing with dynamite), Miles and Jin work for the security team as well and Juliette is a mechanic. No word on Faraday's role. As a matter of fact we see everyone else in 1977 except him. Hmm. What should we make of that?

It soon becomes obvious that Sawyer and Juliette have grown fond of each other. When Amy (now Horace's wife) goes into labor early and needs a c-section, Sawyer gets Juliette. She is still fearful that the child and mother will die trying to give birth on the island, but Sawyer tells her that she'll do great. He even points out that whatever problem caused those deaths probably didn't happen yet. So what does that problem turn out to be? Fans speculated it had something to do with the radiation from Jughead, but that bomb has been on the island for more than 20 years at this point.

Juliette succeeds in delivering a healthy baby boy (no clue on what they named the boy, any guesses? Jacob? Cesear? Desmond? Ethan?). So was Sawyer correct in saying that the baby problem didn't start yet? If so, then why were all the deliveries done on the mainland? Was this just a precaution?

Later than day, Sawyer picks a flower (LaFleur) and brings it to Juliette, who is making a romantic dinner for the two of them. They are a couple and seem to be living happily ever after. Until...

The Phone Call
Jin, who is now speaking perfect English apparently, calls Sawyer and tells him the good news of finding Jack, Kate and Hurley. Uh oh. Right after Sawyer told Horace that speech about not even remembering what Kate looked like. Talk about great timing. He meets up with Jin's DHARMA van of 815ers instead of having him bring them to the barracks. Was Sawyer being cautious with them so their story about being shipwrecked from three years earlier wouldn't get unraveled or did he not want Juliette to know that Kate (or Jack) was back?

There's going to be major ramifications from Kate, Jack and Hurley coming back, especially with them wearing clothes from 2007. Sawyer and the rest of the group have established nice lives for themselves, but they still go out looking for Locke or anyone else on a regular bases (as per Sawyer and Jin's conversation about searching the grid areas). Did Sawyer really want the others to come back to the island or was he going through the motions for the sake of his friends, like Jin who wants to make sure Sun is OK?

The episode ends here, so we didn't get to see the happy reunion and the mind-blowing revelation that Sawyer's about to give them about living the past three years in the 1970s (oh, by the way, we're in 1977 right now).

Other Tidbits
We learned that Charlotte's body stayed behind in the period that she died, when the rest of the group flashed to another time. Daniel is really shaken up when they find him, and he's telling himself that he isn't going to tell her (meaning he won't be the scary man who tells her not to come back to the island). All that seems to change when he spots a young Charlotte running around the DHARMA barracks. With all that Daniel says about not being able to change what happened, is he planting the seeds on trying to change the past by not wanting to tell Charlotte anything, or will he try everything in his power to convince her not to come back?

Anyone find it weird that Ben said Charlotte was born in 1979, but she was a little girl on the island in 1974. Another of Ben's lies or was 1979 when Charlotte was brought to England?

Horace is married to Amy in this episode, but it was implied, or so we thought, that he was with Olivia in "The Man Behind the Curtain," when Ben was born and when he was brought to the island. So what happened to her? Was she not his wife or did something happened to her since then?

Paul's necklace that Amy keeps, and ultimate leads to Horace's drunken, dynamite throwing night, is an ankh, which is the Egyptian symbol for eternal life (or key of life) and fertility. Yet another Egyptian tie on Lost.

With the timeline of them being in 1974, it would seem that there's a young Ben Linus walking around DHARMA. But wouldn't this be close to the same time that Ben met up with Richard? When does Richard start to grow out his hair?

One odd thing that I noticed was that the eye chart on the wall behind Amy in the infirmary has the letter F on top, instead of the traditional E. Other letters include B, C, P, T, E, O, etc. Do these letter spell out anything?

Everyone catch the Geronimo Jackson shirt?:

I'm sure there's a lot more to discuss, but with two weeks before the next episode, we'll have plenty of time to analyze the first half of the season.

Next on Lost: "Namaste" on March 18

*Photos from GetLostPodcastMedia.com & lost-media.com

Saints Land Cornerback Jabari Greer

The Saints have started the process of improving their secondary by signing CB Jabari Greer of the Buffalo Bills. Greer started 23 games the past two seasons for the Bills and had 37 tackles and two interceptions last year. He was undrafted out of Tennesse, but the 5'11" corner should grab a starting spot with the Saints.

Four-Toed Statue

YES!

Saints Stay Busy in Free Agency

The Saints have been busy in the early portion of free agency. They've reportedly looked at numerous players, including Ron Bartell, Jabari Greer, Shawn Springs, Heath Evans, Darren Sharper, Gerald Sensabaugh and have retained some of their own key free agents like Jonathan Vilma, Jon Stinchcomb and Troy Evans.

Today, the team has resigned WR Devery Henderson. The move comes as a bit of a surprise as the Saints are deep at wide receiver. It looks like former first round pick Robert Meachem still hasn't shown the ability and consistency the coaching staff is looking for, so the team opted to bring Henderson back.

Devery is a big play threat, but he did shown better hands catching the ball last season. If he continues to improve as a pass catcher, he should become more of a weapon in the Saints offense. With the emergence of Lance Moore last year to go with Marques Colston, the Saints receiving corps has become one of the team's most solid units.

The Saints missed out on CB Ron Bartell earlier this week when he resigned with the Rams. Fans are still waiting for information on the other players who visited New Orleans, most notably Greer, Sharper and Sensabaugh, who would all upgrade the Saints secondary.