Eastbound & Down Brings the Heat

If you haven't seen or heard of HBO's new comedy Eastbound and Down, then it is time we change that. Danny McBride (Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder) stars as Kenny Powers -- a washed-up Major League pitcher working as a middle-school gym teacher. Check out the trailer:



After throwing 101 MPH heat and striking out the last batter to win the World Series in his rookie year, Powers' career went downhill fast. Amid steroid allegations, increasingly obnoxious behavior, and slow pitch speeds, his time in the Majors was over after only a couple of years. See his baseball trading cards here (these come from a brilliant promotion by HBO in which the 5 cards appeared as inserts in various sports magazines).

With Will Ferrell as co-executive producer and playing a cameo role as car salesman Ashley Schaeffer, he has quite an imprint on the show. More than just outrageous comedy, the show takes on the task of portraying the selfish, egomaniac star athlete who we find on the front page so often nowadays (wait, didn't he just sign with the Buffalo Bills?).