Matthew Brown: What to do for a sequel?

Aug. 18—Ah, real life. The gift that keeps on giving ... fake headlines.

"This just in: The long-awaited sequel to 'The Blind Side' will be called 'Blindsided.'

"Quinton Aaron, who portrayed future betrayed football player Michael Oher, upon hearing recent news asked, 'Does this mean I need to sue Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw?'

"Bullock, who won an Academy Award for her performance as Leigh Anne Tuohy, herself asked, 'I still get to keep the Oscar, even if it was a fictional role after all?'

"McGraw, after reminding people he was an MTV Movie Award nominee when he was in 'Friday Night Lights,' not to mention his roles in 'Flicka,' 'Tomorrowland' and a couple of season 4 episodes of 'Yellowstone,' wondered about reprising the role of Sean Tuohy, asking, 'Aren't we on strike anyway? I guess I'm a part of that, right?'

"Aaron further commented, 'You know, I was barely able to contain myself when she pulled my "teammate" by the facemask and called him "Oompa Loompa." Those guys sure were small.'

"McGraw later asked, 'Conservatorship? Isn't that one of the rooms on the Clue board, where you take piano lessons?'

"Bullock responded, 'No, that's the prevention of the wasteful use of a resource or preservation and repair of historical and cultural sites and artifacts, right out of Oxford.'

"Aaron could only shake his head. 'I don't have the heart.'"

----Moving on to new business and an update on recent predictions gone right and wrong.

Paul Skenes did indeed make his professional baseball debut when the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the Atlanta Braves Aug. 7-10. As correctly predicted in this space, Skenes, the LSU national champion mound ace, was the No. 1 overall pick by the Pirates in the 2023 Major League Baseball amateur draft. His LSU teammate Dylan Crews went No. 2 to the Washington Nationals.

What I didn't realize at the time was that this draft order came about from the first installation of a new draft lottery in baseball similar to the one used by the National Basketball Association (hey, it was held in December, seven months before the actual draft). Otherwise, Washington would have picked first followed by the Athletics.

But Skenes, with a contract worth more than $9 million in hand, made his pro ball debut on Aug. 10 ... in something called the Florida Complex League against fellow draft picks. Nope, not against Most Valuable Player candidates Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson as forecasted.

There's footage of it on MLB.com. He threw 11 pitches in all, the worst being 89 mph. Skenes was second in Division I in innings pitched for the 2023 season, so check spring training for when his real big league debut comes.

The Pirates' big club split that series with Atlanta. The Braves went on to squash New York, New York. The Braves are going to be in the postseason. That is a safe prediction.

Is that going to come down to the wire? How many Braves division championships after 1991 were not determined until the last week, not just the last day of the season? Yes, the Braves have a more-often-than-not tendency to surge to a huge division lead in the summer and coast in the fall, and the way their play has been since the All-Star break shows 2023 will be no different.

So we get the 'what the Braves need to do talk.' From me, it's simple: Play every game like the season is on the line, that it's the win-or-go-home game of a playoff series.

The way the remaining schedule looks, Braves opposition will be half-and-half: half playoff contenders and half non-contenders. Contenders include San Francisco (six games) the Cubs (three games), Marlins (three games) and Philadelphia (seven games), the Phillies always seeming to be more dangerous late in any year (see last year).

Non-contenders can fall into one of three categories, like the New York teams that expected so much more and just want to get it over with. Then there are those who had nothing to begin with, like Colorado (three games) and St. Louis (three games). Finally, there are those clubs with hungry young talent looking to prove they can hang with the powerful Braves. That includes the Pirates, whom they see three more times, and I would put Washington in that group as the Nats recently swept teams like the Reds and the SF Giants.

Who did I leave out? Well, I saved the most important upcoming series for last. That's a four-game set Labor Day weekend at the historic home of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies aren't likely to snatch the Eastern Division lead, but the Dodgers will sure have their sites set on that best record and home-field advantage for the whole playoffs.

(If at all possible, give pet adoption a try through the Animal Rescue Foundation in Milledgeville. Donations of any kind are also in great need. ARF is a little red building at 711 S. Wilkinson St., and more information is available on animalrescuefoundation.org.)