Every Christmas, I like to give myself a particular present: a fantasy football championship. I play in only two leagues, and so this gift is not easy to get.
A 1-4 start. 48 points in week 5. Time to give up on this league and focus on the other one. Not! Never give up until the very end.
A solid 6-win streak puts me back in contention. But then I lost two more times. Fortunately, the tiebreaker worked out so that all I needed to do in week 14 was win. And I won big, because I am Mr. Clutch. And so, I made it into the playoffs as the 4 seed. Of course that means I have to play against the 1 seed. Manning. Moss. Braylon. Burress. Witten. Dang.
Ha! Despite Westbrook's non-TD run, I won easily! Now for the 2 seed in the championship.
Thank you, Warner and Cotchery. If I had started Driver over Cotchery, I would have lost. Winners adapt.
Winning is a skill.
10 p.m.
• So just whenever I fret about my child-rearing abilities, I come across an experience like I had yesterday. The better half and I went to her one friend’s house to deliver Christmas presents to her two kids. We got her five-year-old son an easel/art set and her two-year-old daughter a Cabbage Patch Kid. Well, when the kids opened their gifts, the daughter (Terri) went straight for her brother’s gift (I’ll call him Mike). No surprise. Who wants a doll when your sibling has this cool thing that you can scribble on? Well this of course brought a bit of the sibling rivalry, as Terri was badgering Mike by drawing on his canvass. Mike countered by yelling and the two were pushing each other around. Now Mrs. kkk’s friend’s boyfriend was getting annoyed by this. I make it a point not to criticize a person’s parenting style, but when Terri took one of Mike’s toy magnets that helped keep his coloring picture on the easel board and ran into the kitchen, which prompted Mike to give chase, the boyfriend got up from watching the televised NHL game, picked both kids up off the ground and nearly tossed both into the corner of the living room. Jesus Christ. Now I don’t live in this house, so I don’t know firsthand of the craziness that goes on 24/7, but this was harmless. Hell, Terri had a smile on her face and was giggling when running into the kitchen with Mike’s magnet. Anyway, this prompted both kids to start screaming and crying hysterically, and for what? For being kids. The boyfriend shouted out a number of obscenities, and I could tell if we weren’t there Mrs, kkk’s friend would have gotten into it with the boyfriend, who was also Terri’s father. I’ve said my fair share of negative things about kids, but I do know that kids will be kids. As long as they’re not monstrous trolls, then you should expect them to do what they do. But hey, they're not my kids. And they weren't getting beaten.
Ok, I tried, I just can't do the full version. I'm pissed off about it, but what can I do? I took notes, though, so someday, I'll flush this one out and do it the right way.
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The usuals are on commentary, Tony, Bobby and Tenay. The Four Horsemen have been banned from the building by Bischoff, and Mean Gene talks about the WCW Hotline. Which isn't active, as the giant black box on the screen says.
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The first match was Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kidman, in a Triangle Match for the WCW Cruiserweight Title. It was overly spotty, but that's what I expected. In that context, I was surprised at how slow it seemed. Anyway, the ending went like this. Eddie Guerrero came to the ring, and reversed Kidman's rollup as the referee was distracted. The referee came in, but the count only got two, as Rey dropkicked Juvi in the face, allowing Kidman to retain his Cruiserweight Title, at 14:54. ***1/2, with a very fun ending, which tied into the next match. Anyhow, Eddie tells Rey and Juvi that they suck. They aren't LWO material, and Kidman's a dweeb. So he needs to come out here...
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Kidman comes out to the ring, and he's going to face Eddie Guerrero, for Kidman's WCW Cruiserweight Title. More of the same, but with a defined heel and face. See, there are things that people can like about Juvi, but not Eddie. He's a real dickhead. Eddie's bodyguard came out to the ring, so the ref's distracted. Juvi crotches Kidman, but Rey pushes Eddie off the top, crotching him along the top rope. Eddie falls to the canvas and Kidman gives him the SHOOTING STAR PRESS, for 3, at 10:47. ***1/2. The first 30 minutes of the show was great. And now it goes WAY downhill.
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Video of Nash/Goldberg confrontations in previous weeks...not much to see.
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The next match is Prince Iaukea vs. NORMAN SMILEY!!! I like Smiley, but why? Starrcade's supposed to be a blowoff show. Anyhow, this match is a steaming pile of shit. Iaukea sucks, and Smiley's style doesn't help matters. He's a mat wrestler, and Iaukea is anything but. Norman does the BIG WIGGLE 3 times throughout the match, and once after. Those were 3 of the 4 pops in the match. The 4th was at the finish, because the crowd was glad to see it end. A huge BORING chant got started during the match, but it died down after a while. Smiley won the match, when Iaukea tapped out to the NORMAN CONQUEST, at 11:32. That's a chickenwing, in case you didn't watch WCW back in the day. Entirely too long. 1/2*.
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Scott Hall comes to the ring now, with no music. A man without music, and without a group. Or so he says. Hey, yo; 2 SWEET and all that. 1998 hasn't been the best for Hall, but '99 will be great. He only has to prove things to himself. Then he leaves.
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Same Nash/Goldberg movie as the last one...
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It's Ernest "the Cat" Miller w/Sonny Onoo vs. Perry Saturn. I like Saturn's music. What I don't like is Miller's cheap heat gimmick. That's all it is. Saturn finishes the bout with the Death Valley Driver at 7:06, after Sonny Onoo accidentally kicked Miller in the chest. Good thing it was short. All Miller did during the entire match was kick. *. Afterward, Miller and Onoo argued on their way to the back.
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Mean Gene Okerlund's in the aisleway, and he interviews Ric Flair. Flair's not at all worried about the Four Horsemen being banned from the building. Bischoff's going to bleed, too.
Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell encounter Konnan in the back, and tell him that the Red and Black is dead. Lex Luger comes into the room, and keeps Konnan from fighting the other two. Konnan wants to know what's going on. We found out what was going on a few weeks later, didn't we?
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We find out that Nash vs. Goldberg later on is going to be No DQ. Well that's great. The next match is Fit Finlay and Jerry Flynn vs. NWO Black and White's Brian Adams and Scott Norton w/Vincent. What's this WCW Saturday Night shit doing on my screen? A way's through, Flynn gets the hot-tag from Fit, kicks Vincent, but gets powerbombed by Norton, giving the NWO B-Teamers the win at 8:55. DUD, just because this shit doesn't belong on PPV. Come on, a JERRY FLYNN PPV match?
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Mean Gene's with Eric Bischoff in the aisleway, and Bischoff's promo is ironically funny. All that "Flair didn't save a penny stuff, of course.
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Before this match between Chris Jericho w/Ralphus and Konnan for the WCW TV Title, we flashback to Jericho beating up a Konnan impersonator on Nitro two weeks ago. This is the Jericho I like. He's awesome. Jericho comes to the ring wearing Konnan's TV Title. Cause he stole it, or something. Towards the end, we get a beltshot from Jericho to Konnan. The cover gets two, and Konnan comes back with a facebuster and the TEQUILA SUNRISE for the submission at 7:28. It was decent, **. Let's put it this way, there's been so much worse on this show.
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From a WCW.com thing earlier in the day, the Giant got mad at Lee Marshall. He didn't hit him or anything.
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This is Eric Bischoff vs. Ric Flair. Yeah, Bischoff goes over after Curt Hennig runs in during a ref bump and gives him a foreign object to hit Flair with, at 7:08. The less said, the better. Yes, it really was that bad. Crowd shit all over it, so that backs up my -** rating. This is a blowoff show where the babyfaces are supposed to win. Repeat that.
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We're on to Part 2.
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It's the "People's Champion" Diamond Dallas Page vs. The Giant. I can't believe they would so blatantly rip off the WWF with that People's Champ nonsense. Wait a minute...of course I believe it. This IS WCW. Every promotion that thinks they're the new WWF does it, with TNA being the worst offender. Page comes through the crowd to the ring, and we begin the match. It's really boring, IMO. The finish is nice, though. Ref bump, and Bret Hart comes to the ring, where he accidentally hits The Giant with a chair. They're both NWO 4 LIFE, see. Page chopblocks Bret, knocking Bret out of the ring. Now, The Giant places Page on the top turnbuckle, and tries to CHOKESLAM him, but Page reverses it to a DIAMOND CUTTER, which picks up the win at 12:45. While it was boring, at least Page went over. Giant's bearhug killed the positive momentum this match had at the beginning, so it's a *1/2 match. Like I said, it was going well until the middle.
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The same Goldberg/Nash video precedes...Kevin Nash vs. Goldberg, for the WCW Heavyweight Title, in a match where there are No Disqualifications. Goldberg is 173-0, or so WCW says. Let's skip to the ending. Again, this match was fine until a certain point. Ref bump, and instantly, the entire crowd looks to the entrance way. Every match of importance hasn't ended clean. WCW doesn't care about Jericho, so that's not important. If you have your crowd trained to see interference coming like that, there's a problem. Disco Inferno came to the ring, and got SPEARED by Goldberg. Now Bam Bam Bigelow comes to the ring, and Goldberg clotheslines him over the top rope. But as security comes out to get rid of the hangers-on (Disco, Bam Bam), SCOTT HALL comes out, in a security outfit, and TASERS GOLDBERG. Then Nash gives Goldberg the JACKKNIFE, for 3, at 11:19. NEW CHAMPION, and the streak is OVER. It's a DUD. Just because of the way the entire show has gone. The crowd went apeshit for this, SO...I am unsure of whether or not this was a bad thing. The Fingerpoke was what killed the company. Aside from the overbooking, the match was decent. But you have to give someone the rub of pinning Goldberg clean...and that just didn't happen. You do that, you have a new star. It has to be someone young, not Nash.
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Rating: Bad. The first 30 minutes saved this show from being one of the worst I've ever watched. Too much overbooking.
Best Segment: Cruiserweight stuff at the beginning. The matches were equally good, so I'll generalize it.
Worst Segment: Brian Adams and Scott Norton vs. Fit Finlay and Jerry Flynn. Just, no.
Loudest Sound: Nash's pop for winning the Title, Eddie Guerrero's heel heat before the promo he cut on the participants in the Triangle Match, Scott Hall's promo, and Ric Flair, along with Eric Bischoff.
No Sound: Fit Finlay and Jerry Flynn, Norman and Iaukea, and Ernest "the Cat" Miller.
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I'm only going to do this for the PPV's and MSG shows that get posted, because my hand isn't holding up too well throughout this. RAW's, Nitro's, and all that other stuff won't get reviewed. I'm disappointed about that, but oh well. I don't know what'll be next, but it'll be a few days.
1 p.m.
• OK, I got one of these what-were-you-doing-during-the-1980s and decided to give it a go. These answers will be the first thing that comes to mind. I noticed while copying and pasting the questions that there are some “favorites” listed. My first thought will be my “favorite” during the time. So if I'm asked about my “favorite 1980s athlete,” it would be my thought during the 1980s, not my “current-day” favorite athlete from the 1980s.
remember when.....
1.How old were you in 1980?
4-5
2. How old were you in 1989?
13-14
3. Were you a Toys R' Us kid?
Not until the local Children's Palace went under
4. Did you watch Transformers?
Not really
5. Did you see E.T. on the big screen?
I think so
6. Did you own a Lite Bright?
I think so
7. Who is your Favorite Golden Girl?
Sofia
8. When someone says " Who you gonna call? " You think?
Ghosbusters
9. What was your favorite toy?
Star Wars action figures or dinosaur figures. I got a few miles out of my Bigwheel, too. That was all before video games, of course.
10. Did you have a Pogo Ball?
No
11. Did you listen to New Kids on the Block?
No
12. What New Kid did you have a crush on?
None
13. Did you play M.A.S.H.?
You could “play” it?
14. Did you watch The Care Bears?
No
15. Did you have Jelly bracelets?
The hell are these questions?
16. Did you have a charm necklace and/or bracelet?
Fuck no
17. Did you own a glo-worm?
No
18. Did you ever own a slap bracelet?
No
19. The Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles?
Neither -- if forced to choose, The Breakfast Club
20. Did you have a crazy hair style?
No (only when I woke up in the morning before taking a shower)
21. What was your first bike?
A shitty used bike with faggy handlebars I got for $20. Years later I got a Huffy BMX.
22. Name one thing you still own from your childhood?
Oh Christ. My video games, sports cards, many of my action figures and cars. All are boxed up. I am meaning to one day re-organize my card collection, and I’m probably just going to have kkk Jr. play with my old stuff.
23. Did you have a Cabbage Patch Kid?
No
24. Did you dress like Madonna?
No
25. Rainbow Brite or Strawberry Shortcake?
Strawberry shortcake, if only for the food factor
26. Did you watch Miami Vice?
No, but I had the soundtrack
27. Did you own a pair of Jelly Shoes?
No
28. Did you own a Trapper Keeper?
Yes
29. Atari or Nintendo?
Atari, then Sega
30. Did you play Pac-Man?
Hell yeah
31. Which was better: Jem and The Holograms or Barbie and The Rockers!?
Jem. There was a kid in school named “James” and we goofed on him with the help of said cartoon.
32. He-Man or She-Ra?
He-Man.
33. What movie scared you the most?
Wow. I can’t think of one. I know I always used to watch this weekly “Saturday Nightmares” movie-of-the-week thing and just about every one of those freaked me out in some way. Can’t remember any of the names though.
34. Did you try to dance like Michael Jackson?
(Sigh) Yes.
35. G.I. Joe cartoon or comics?
Cartoon, although I was never a big G.I. Joe fan.
36. Favorite 80's movie?
Ghostbusters, although Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade popped into my head later.
37. Most nostalgic 80's movie?
Hmmm, I’d have to say “Ghostbusters” again. Just the memories of where I used to watch that film. Then again, I remember watching “Hunt for Red October” in the theater with people SMOKING around me. Oh, how could I have been so stupid? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Wait, were they in the 1980? Shit. Off by one year.
38. 3-2-1 Contact or Reading Rainbow?
Huh? I remember Picture Pages -- does that count?
39. Muppet Movie of the 80's:
Not a Muppets fan.
40. Favorite 80's sports dynasty?
You probably can’t call the Pistons of the late 1980s-early 1990s a “dynasty,” so I’d have to go with the Boston Celtics (if you could call them such a thing, too). Didn’t like the 49ers because they were getting up there with the beloved “Stillers” of the 1970s in Super Bowl wins. Didn’t really follow basketball but I knew who Larry Bird was, so yay.
41. Best Sitcom?
The Cosby show with the “new” Mamma’s Family a close second.
42. Favorite WWF Wrestler of the 80's?
Sgt. Slaughter, with that KoKo B-Ware/Owen Hart tag team an afterthought.
12:15 p.m.
• I need to check the last few weeks of my kkk Bowl matchups to see if I'm winning any of these contests.
(3.5) Cleveland @ Cincinnati. Won't be as high-scoring as the last affair, but I'm hoping the Browns play like the playoffs are at stake.
(9.5) Green Bay @ Chicago. I wasn't sure about this one. I'm hoping the Bears defense is so pissed off by the offensive unit that they mail this one in.
Houston @ Indianapolis (7.5). Oakland lost by a touchdown last week. I'm hoping the Texans can do the same.
Kansas City @ Detroit (4.5). Sure they are in a free-fall, but the Lions can win this one, can't they?
Miami @ New England (100) (22.5). You're on a roll, Miami. Lose by just three touchdowns.
(3.5) N.Y. Giants @ Buffalo. I don't think Buffalo will mail this one in, even though they are out of the playoff race.
Oakland @ Jacksonville (13.5). Jacksonville will win by 13. I hope.
Philadelphia @ New Orleans (3.5). I heard the Saints are sill in the wild-card hunt. No shit.
Washington @ Minnesota (6.5). Here's hoping the Vikings win by 4. Also, I guess they are now the NFC team analysts are saying, "Boy I sure wouldn't want to meet them in the playoffs." Christ I hate that line. I feel the need to bitch about this cliche again, but maybe some other time.
Atlanta @ Arizona (10.5). Hmm, I'm getting second thoughts about this one. No. Keep it as is.
Baltimore @ Seattle (10.5). Seattle will win, but not in double digits.
N.Y. Jets @ Tennessee (8.5). That spread seems too big for me.
(6.5) Tampa Bay @ San Francisco. I'm gettng second thoughts about this one, too. Shit.
Denver @ San Diego (8.5). I'm curious to see how the Chargers play in the postseason.
David Justice - Rightfielder
Atlanta Braves 1989-1996
Cleveland Indians 1997-2000
New York Yankees 2000-2001
Oakland Athletics 2002
Awards
1990 N.L. Rookie of the Year
1993 N.L. Silver Slugger - OF
1997 N.L. Silver Slugger - OF
2000 ALCS MVP
All-Star Selections: 3 (1993, 1994, 1997)
League Leader
None
Career Ranks
SLG%: 90th
OPS: 95th
HR/AB: 73rd
Best Performance
May 7, 1999 - Cleveland at Tampa Bay
Went 4 for 4 with two homeruns, four runs scored, and five RBI.
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 43 (564) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 28.7 (309) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 43.5 (416) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Larry Doby)
Other Similar Batters: Tim Salmon, Ryan Klesko, Rudy York, Kent Hrbek, Greg Luzinski, Jeromy Burnitz, Darryl Strawberry, Roy Sievers, Mo Vaughn
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1989: 0/0.1
1990: 20/4.5
1991: 22/6.0
1992: 23/8.0
1993: 29/8.5
1994: 19/7.5
1995: 19/5.5
1996: 7/2.7
1997: 26/7.6
1998: 13/4.8
1999: 16/4.8
2000: 20/7.5
2001: 8/2.6
2002: 11/3.5
Career Win Shares: 233
Career WARP3: 73.6
My Stupid Opinion
Good hitter who could rarely stay healthy an entire season. He managed to play over 150 games in a season only once in his career, which also happened to be his best year in 1993. His career does prove that postseason experience doesn't mean shit when it actually comes to playing the postseason as he played in 112 postseason games but hit only .224/.335/.382. He did fuck Halle Berry but he's not close to being borderline candidate where such a feat can be considered.
8 p.m.
• I'll take the Cowboys to win by 10+ points.
• Atari Porn. That's all I got to say.
10:15 a.m.
• So the primary car needs its annual inspection along with some brake work. We turned it into the gas station/mechanic’s place yesterday, and I had to wait 10 minutes for the poor cashier to get done ringing up some guy with a shitload of instant lottery tickets. Ugh. I’ve stated several times before that I hate lottery people, especially at a Quickie Mart. The point of a convenience store is to get in and out fast, and wanting to cash in a dozen lottery tickets, along with buying a dozen more, defeats this purpose. It’s like paying for 13 grocery items in a 10-item express lane via check. Oh well. I really wasn’t annoyed by this, but it was sad to see the poor cashier with the deer-in-headlights look because her line was growing due to this douche in front of her hoping to hit it big with government-sanctioned gambling. Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah. So I got the call this morning from the mechanic about the brakes needing replaced, which I figured. It was sad to hear the bracing-for-the-total-cost tone in his voice because I just don’t get how people will flip out over the cost of auto repair. Don’t like the cost? Don’t get the work done at that place of business. The price given to me was fine – my only requirement is that I don’t want to come back for the same problem a week from now. Then I will turn into my asshole state.
• I actually went into this article with a somewhat open mind because I was curious to see how much of a commie Barack Obama was a decade ago.
Oddly enough, many times I don’t care about the “OMG he said this 10 years ago~!” gotcha game. Before he became House Minority Leader in the ‘90s Dick Gephart seemed like a decent enough person. Problem was he was now the representative for all the crackpot liberals so he had to turn up the wacko-notch a bit. Even Al Gore seemed to start off as a conservative Democrat while in Congress before becoming the enviro-weenie he is today. So let’s see what Obama said back in the day.
Whatever. I know the guy’s full of shit, but at least he’s saying the right things to convince the stupid among us that he’d actually be a so-called moderate voice. Hello, what’s this?
You’re blaming a STAFFER for not giving accurate beliefs you are supposed to hold? And you never bothered to correct the record when it went out? Hell, you didn’t even bother to LOOK OVER WHAT THE STAFFER WROTE? OK, I’m done.
8:45 p.m.
• So I had my gay-ass office Christmas party today. Whatever. I just showed up for the end-of-year check we all get. But more importantly this kicks off a period where I will be off work eight of the next nine days. Woo-hoo. Also, this means my new job is quickly approaching.
• What ... the ... hell. Well at least these Brits have free government health care.
11:59 p.m.
• Just when I thought Bryant Gumbel couldn't get any worse. During the Steeler game, Willie Parker got hurt bad on the second play for Pittsburgh. When it was announced that he broke his fibula, one of Gumbel's first thoughts were, "Now that means Fred Taylor will FINALLY get into a pro-bowl game." Jesus Christ, man, the guy just broke his leg. Can't we wait until later in the game to talk about this sort of thing? And don't think I'm saying this because Parker is a Steeler. Bryant also pissed me off a few weeks ago when he made an ass of himself during a Thursday-night Redskins game. The NFL Network ought to be glad they aren't on any "mainstram" cable packages, because the production value of its NFL games leaves MUCH to be desired.
8 p.m.
• (7.5) Pittsburgh @ St. Louis. The Steelers are slumping and the Rams are probably playing better than their record shows. The Black and Gold will score 27.
There's still only a few more weeks of 2007 but wrestling wise, there's no more shows I'm apart of. So I can go ahead and give 2007 a review wrestling wise.
2007 was a great year for me wrestling wise. I did so much and I accomplished a whole hell of a lot, in such a very short span of time. If you would have told me in Oct. of 2006 that I would Ref outside of California, work with former WWE/ECW wrestlers along with current TNA wrestlers, Referee at the Cow Palace, and to end it all, work with the Great Muta, I would have laughed at you, but by the end of 2006, it was all starting to become a reality.
It really all started back in November of 2006 when Helfyre asked me if I would like to go to Oregon and Referee for a promotion called BAW. I didn't know it a the time, but that's pretty much when all the crazyness of what I was really going to do in 2007 would start. BAW is what really set things off for me. It was the first time I Ref'ed out of the state of California and it was the first time I would have worked with fromer WWE/WCW/ECW wrestlers along with current (at the time) TNA wrestlers. It was where I got to meet and work with New Jack, Spike Dudley, and Molly Holly. BAW also gave me a lot more confindence when it came to Refereeing.
To be honest, before I went to BAW I didn't feel to comfortable being a Ref. There was just something about it, that made me keep thinking I wouldn't get it or I would be just pick of the litter Referee, but BAW made me feel differently. When I Ref'ed for BAW, the fans hated me...but it was a good kind of hate...the kind of hate wrestlers want to get from crowds. The Promoter and the Booker loved me as a Ref and would always tell me how I was doing a good job and the wrestlers loved working with me. It made me want to Referee more and more.
Ok, I'm getting a bit off track here, this post is going to become a BAW love fest instead of a 2007 year in review before to long. So BAW is what really jump started things for me and from there, wrestling wise, just continued to climb.
TRAINING:At the start of year, I re-started my training to become a Pro Wrestler. I enjoyed Refereeing but I didn't get into Pro Wrestling to become a Referee, I got into Pro Wrestling because I wanted to be a Wrestler. I think training was the only thing that brought me a lot of my lows wrestling wise throughout 2007. There were always times where I felt like I was getting it, I was understanding and doing/taking moves and understaning wrestling psycology a lot more but there were a lot more times where I wasn't getting it. Weather it was understanding how to give or take a move correctly, understanding the psycology of something or trying to do a stand-still front flip bump. Man I hate trying to do that. At one point I actually was able to do it, but we took something like a week in a half off from training because the ring was down and when we got back to training...I competely forgot how to do the front flip bump and still can't really do it to this day. I'm getting closer to remembering how to do it, but still quite pull it off again.
Though I guess I got the aspect of it enough to have my first offical pro wrestling match. It took me 12 months but hey, I got to have it. After 12 months straight of training, my trainers felt good enough to give me my first match and I'm glad they did. I felt more comfortable going into the match because I trained for so long, because I got to learn the craft of Pro Wrestling in a 12 month span. I think any earlier I wouldn't have been ready as I was for the match last Saturday as I was after training for 12 months.
DIFFERENT COMPANIES: At the end of 2006, I was only working for a hand-ful of promotions. BRAWL and CCW were really the only companies I was working for. I was with Devil Mountain Wrestling but by the end of 2006, Devil Mountain wasn't running any shows, we ran one in Sept. but after that, Devil Mountain Wrestling didn't have a show after that till mid-2007. So by the end of 2006, I was already working for BRAWL and CCW and just started working for BAW up in Oregon, and I really wanted to work for more companies as a Referee. So I actually made a New Years Resolution to work for those extra companies and I did.
By the end of 2007, I have worked with and Ref'ed Devil Mountain Wrestling (DMW), California Championship Wrestling (CCW), Barely Regulated American Wrestling League (BRAWL), BAW (I have no idea what they were actually called other than BAW.), North American Wrestling (NAW), and Supreme Pro Wrestling (SPW). Then their was the whole WrestleFanFest thing...technically that's not another company but fuck it, since it was put on by someone else, I'm gonna count it anyways. It's my blog, I'll count it if I wanna. (lol)
I'll admit while it was fun working for all those companies, it made my weekend life/schdule really hectic. There were a lot of times my schdule for a weekend looked like this....
Friday: BRAWL (BRAWL normally ran on Fridays)
Saturday CCW or DMW (either show normally run on Saturdays), then the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Sunday: NAW or SPW or BRAWL (Either show normally runs on Sundays, and every once in awhile BRAWL would run on a sunday)
So after working BRAWL on a friday night, on Saturday I'd either have to wake up really early to set up for the DMW show that was taking place, or I'd have to leave my house by 2 or 3 o'clock and make a hour to one in a half hour drive to Newman to work CCW, then after working either show, I would have to leave the show and make my way to Oakland and hopefully get there by 11:30 to help put on the Rocky Horror Picture Show. After Rocky Horror, I would get home normally by 4 Sunday morning. Now for Sunday shows, I have to get up around noon to make it to each show. SPW shows start at 5, so I have to be there by 3. NAW shows start around 7:30 normally but because they're about an hour in a half away from where I live, I have to get up between noon and 1 so I can get ready to go before my ride comes and picks myself and my roommate up. NAW shows also run really really long, because they're done at a bar/club. So a NAW show will start at 7:30 (usually) and run close to midnight. So after the NAW show, i'd get home around 2 in the morning and when I was working. I'd get a few hours of sleep then have to be at work by 6 in the morning Monday morning. Here's what my schdule would look like altogether with weeekends like that.
Thursday: work 6 am to 2:30 pm, Training @ 6:30 pm
Friday: Work 6 am to 2:30 pm, BRAWL @ 7 pm, had to be there around 5'ish.
Saturday: CCW @ 7:30 pm, had to be there before 5 pm, or DMW @ 7 pm, start setting up for show at 10:00 am.
After working either show, drive to Oakland for Rocky Horror, have to get there before midnight.
Sunday: NAW @ 7 to 7:30ish, leave house around 3 pm or SPW @ 5:00 pm, have to leave house by 2 pm or work BRAWL which took place at 6 pm, had to be there by 3:30 pm
Monday: Work 6 am to 2:30 pm, Wrestling Training @ 6:30 pm.
That's how a schdule could look for me at times.
Even though I was dead tired come Monday...I loved doing those types of weekends. I really did.
Will I work for more companies next year? To be honest, I honestly don't know. There are a few more companies here in the Bay Area that seem to be sprouting up, but they haven't contacted me about Ref'ing for them. I do know that I'm schduled to work for BTW (Big Time Wrestling) in Jan though, so that's already a new company right there, but I'm also not working job wise right now so it'll depend on if I can afford the gas to get back and forth or not.
BIG NAME WRESTLERS:Throughout 2007, I got to work with or be on the same show with a lot of wrestlers who work or have worked with WWE, WCW/NWA, ECW, TNA, and Japan. Here's just a list of them;
New Jack, Molly Holly, Brother Runt (Spike Dudley), Kamala, Rikishi, Al Snow w/ Head, Blue Meanie, Steve Corino, D-lo Brown, The Great Muta, Gangrel, Team 3D (The Dudley Boys), The Stiener Brothers, Slick (Slick was ribbing me the entire night), The Sandman, Francine, Babydoll, One Man Gang, Orlando Jordon, Diamond Dallas Page, Mean Gene Okerlund, Eric Bischoff, Barbarian, Warload, Scott Norton, Raven, Dr. Death Steve Williams, Tonga Kid, and I think there's a lot more names, I just can't remember them all. Some of them I got to work closely with while others I met for a few seconds and they most likely don't remember me.
But yeah, if anyone ever told me before 2007 I would meet and work with those people, I would have laughed at you. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think I would meet all those people or even ever get to work with them. Some I still talk to today and I'm still pretty good with, others I've met once or twice but were all nice to meet and a good number of them have said I do a great job as a Ref. There's nothing better than hearing that a former World Champion loved your work in the ring, it's a awesome feeling.
2008: What will happen with me in 2008? I have no idea. I don't think anyting could really top 2007 wrestling wise for me. I was able to do so much and accomplish so much in 2007. I think really the only thing that could top 2007 would be wrestling in more wrestling matches, maybe winning a title for a company other than Devil Mountain Wrestling (I wouldn't feel right holding a title in the company that trained me, well not for quite awhile anyways.), and getting to work in another big show. Sorta like what WrestleFanFest was...just better organized. Those things might help make 2008 a better year than what 2007 was for me, but first before I even think that, I need to work on getting a new job so I can afford gas to make it to these other shows.
7 p.m.
• Well this is just lovely. The better half went out with her parents and while they were driving down a two-lane road, some cunt going the opposite way wanted to pass the person in front of her and went into Mrs. kkk's lane. This driver then hit my father-in-law's car... AND FLED THE MOTHER FUCKING SCENE. Right now the better half told me she's fine, even though the car is not driveable. Oh, yeah. The bitch who fled the scene? The motorist she was trying to pass FOLLOWED HER AND TOOK DOWN HER PLATES. Bitch, you going nowhere.
Update to Terror/Smues comments:
Here's what happened. It wasn't the motorist who chased down this cunt. It was a driver behind the motorist. And guess what? The reason he did this was because he was hit by a drunk driver two years ago and was in a coma for 28 days. From what I heard, this guy followed the bitch until she pulled over crying hysterically. The guy then went back to the scene. The cops went out to where the bitch was and she was gone. She eventually came back to the scene after Mrs. kkk went to the emergency room by ambulance and said how sorry she was to my mother-in-law. Much to my surprise my in-law didn't do anything but ignore her. I got picked up by my sister-in-law and went to the hospital (there wasn't a car at my house), and when I gave my "She's OK" updates a few hours later, the sister-in-law and mother-in-law were both amazed at how pissed off I was. I was basically saying how "this cunt needs to fucking die." Of course, I thought I was alone outside the hospital but there were several other people on cell phones around the corner of the building who seemed a little ... scared ... of me and my ravings. I don't remember using the "c" word while on the phone, but I was in such a haze I can't remember. (The mother-in-law told the better half I said it, so I'm not going to doubt her.)
Mrs. kkk isn't going into work this morning, and I was afraid that she might suffer from "next-day soreness/etc." that usually comes with a car accident, but she felt pretty good when she woke up, so that's a good sign. Also, even though this wasn't too far off from being a head-on collision, the impact wasn't too bad -- the car's sides mostly hit, and the better half doesn't remember being "thrusted" or "thrashed" about.
You know, accidents happen. Driving down an icy hill, skidding and hitting another car is an accident. Not seeing a car because it was in that little section of your car that covers up your blind spot, even when you check said spot, is an accident. Bumping into someone in a parking lot because you looked one way, looked another way, then pulling up not knowing the other car was also pulling out right after you looked the "first way" is an accident. Trying to pass someone on a two-lane road, hitting the automobile in the other lane and fleeing the scene is NOT an accident. Oh, and the driver that tracked this bitch down will be getting a "Christmas card" from the kkk household.
Chuck Knoblauch - Second Baseman
Minnesota Twins 1991-1997
New York Yankees 1998-2001
Kansas City Royals 2002
Awards
1991 A.L. Rookie of the Year
1995 A.L. Silver Slugger - 2B
1997 A.L. Gold Glove - 2B
1997 A.L. Silver Slugger - 2B
All-Star Selections: 4 (1992, 1994, 1996, 1997)
League Leader
1994: Doubles
1996: Triples
Career Ranks
SB: 63rd
Best Performance
July 30, 1999 - New York at Boston
Went 5 for 6 with a double, homerun, and 4 RBI against the Red Sox.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Batting - 3 (503) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 67 (360) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 33.8 (209) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 66.5 (275) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: 1 (Lou Boudreau)
Other Similar Batters: Eric Young, Jason Kendall, Edgar Renteria, Mark Grudzielanek, Larry Doyle, Alvin Dark, Dave Lopes, Pete Runnels, Delino DeShields
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1991: 20/5.8
1992: 23/7.8
1993: 16/4.5
1994: 20/6.3
1995: 27/9.9
1996: 32/11.1
1997: 23/7.6
1998: 22/8.5
1999: 25/7.1
2000: 10/2.5
2001: 11/3.0
2002: 2/0.0
Career Win Shares: 230
Career WARP3: 74.2
My Stupid Opinion
Very good player during the 90's but by age 32 he was already washed up. Had a very good knowledge of the strikezone as the majority of his years he had more walks than strikeouts. His Gold Glove in 1997 was largely undeserved as he was above average at his best and then became very poor a couple of years later when he developed a mental block when it came throwing to first base. Having that happen to you while you are playing for the Yankees just magnified the problem and his offensive numbers would begin their downward spiral the following year.
Best Albums: LCD Soundsystem-Sound of Silver, Jay Z-American Gangster, Grinderman-Grinderman, Alcest -Souvenirs d'Un Autre Monde, !!!-Myth Takes.
Worst Albums: Timbaland-Shock Value, The Stooges-The Weirdness
Best Song: Jay Z-"Roc Boys" Alcest-"Les Iris"
Worst Song: Soulja Boy-"Crank That Soulja Boy", Avril-"Girlfriend", Fergie-"Big Girls Don't Cry"
Most Disappointing: Wu Tang Clan-The 8 Diagrams. Half a good, album half a bad one. Also, Interpol-Our Love to Admire
Worst Band: Angels & Airwaves. Tom Delonge is a pretentious faggot.
Enough Already: Fergie, Daughtry
Unwarranted Return: Garth Brooks
Guilty Pleasure: NiN-Year Zero. Probably the first NiN album I like.
Best Artist: James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Jay-Z, Neige (Alcest)
Worst Artist: Tom Delonge (Angels & Airwaves), Fergie
Overhyped: Arcade Fire, M.I.A., Spoon, Arctic Monkeys, Amy Winehouse, Iron & Wine, New Pornographers, Feist
Underhyped: Angels of Light, The Angelic Process, Dalek, Substanz T, The Giallo's Flame.
8:30 p.m.
• So the better half was getting paranoid about some pinkish discharge yesterday (if I have to hear about this, so do you) and we moved up the scheduled doctor’s visit a week or so to today. Of couse the pink discharge couldn’t have been from getting prodded during her first visit (and everything else shooting out of her has been clear) but I digress. She rescheduled the appointment to 4:30 p.m. We went straight from work to this place and had 20 minutes to space. When we got to this office, which was on the second floor in some suite complex, I really had to go to the bathroom. Problem was, all the restrooms at this place were locked and this suite lost its key to the men’s room. I had to go down the hall and ask someone at that place for their key to the pisser. I could have walked down the road to a public facility and back because were waiting for 45 minutes. However, we were probably squeezed in so I wasn’t complaining. Shortly after we arrived this uppity bitch came in gabbing on her cell phone. When the receptionist asked her to turn off her cell phone because those devices interfere with the medical equipment, the bitch got an attitude and said, “Where does it say that?” The receptionist then pointed to the THREE SIGNS IN FRONT OF THE BITCH’S FACE THAT SAID “NO CELL PHONES – THEY INTERFERE WITH THE MONITOR EQUIPMENT.” I laughed loud enough to be noticed, and the bitch went over to the room’s one corner.
When it was finally the better half’s turn to be prodded, the tech person did her thing and it’s official: Mrs. kkk’s knocked up. The only surprise was that kkk jr. wasn’t as developed as initially thought, which meant the better half got tainted by me sometime in late November rather than in October. That just gives me a few more weeks of listening to the better half bitching about how much her back hurts from dragging around a living being inside of her. It also means that the gender is up for grabs. When we first went to the doctor’s office, she said that if Mrs. kkk got knocked up a while after having sex then there’s a good chance the kid will be a girl. This is because the girly sperm lives longer than the manly sperm. (I’m not saying this – that’s what I was told.) Then again, this makes sense because I’m sure the girl sperm probably nags the boy sperm to the point where the males don’t want to go on living.
It’s odd. The wife wants a boy while I’m actually more partial to a girl. I’m not sure why. Part of the reason is because I hate hunting and fishing, and I know jack shit about cars. If kkk jr. has a penis, he’d probably be looking to put it in some guy’s anus once puberty hits due to my un-manliness. Then again, the one thing I’m dreading about having a girl is … well, let me paraphrase these words from one of the better half’s friends, which sums up my fears perfectly. “With a boy you have to worry about one dick. With a girl, you have to worry about everyone’s dick.” However, all this aside, what’s freaking me out is if the baby will be healthy. I guess that’s better than not caring at all.
Awww, it has my nose.
Ok, I didn't do this for a while, because, honestly, there wasn't much on to watch. I like to interview a lot of stuff in a row, every day, more like.
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It's Tribute to the Troops from Iraq, so hopefully, the guys put on a good show for the soldiers. That's the main reason I'm interested in watching this, in the first place. JR and the King are on commentary.
The first match, and first segment on the show from Iraq, is a non-title match, between Edge (RAW Tag Team Champion) and John Cena (WWE Champion). Sounds good.
Blow-by-blow: Cena applies a headlock at the beginning of the match, and takes Edge down to the canvas. Edge lifts him up into the air, and Cena does it again. Cena gives Edge a shoulderblock, and we go to the chinlock, early. It doesn't last long, so Edge slaps Cena across the face. Edge gives Cena a forearm, and a shoulderblock of his own. Cena comes back with a hiptoss, and then a scoop slam, followed by an elbowdrop, which gets a 2 count. Cena misses a charge to the corner, so Edge gives him a DDT. He goes for the "10 punch in the corner," but Cena stops him at #3, and drops Edge face-first onto the turnbuckle. Cena gives Edge a suplex, but it only gets a 2 count. Cena misses a backdrop, so Edge gives him a clothesline. A "you suck" chant gets going, obviously in the direction of Edge. Edge covers Cena for 2, and puts Cena on the ring apron. Cena slugs away, and goes up top, and an poke of the eye by Edge knocks Cena down to the floor. Edge gives Cena a baseball slide, as we go to a
commercial break.
We're back, as Edge has Cena locked in a body scissors. The soldiers bless us with a "CENA" chant, so Cena powers out of the hold. Cena then gives Edge a "Throwback," but Edge comes back quickly with a big boot for 2. Edge goes out to the floor and grabs a chair, but the referee takes it away before he can use it. A Cena rollup gets 2, and Edge comes back with a clothesline, and elbowdrop to the back for 2. Edge gives Cena a spinning leg lariat for 2, and applies the camel clutch. JR's thinking the same thing I am, that it's funny he's doing that move in the Middle East, and all. Cena powers out, of course, and falls back onto Edge, who lands hard on the canvas. The two wrestlers now slug it out, and Cena gets the best of it. He gives Edge two flying shoulderblocks, and then the "Killswitch" for 2. I'm getting these names in quotations off wikipedia, in case you were wondering. Cena then gives Edge the FIVE KNUCKLE SHUFFLE, which the soldiers go nuts for. Cena rams Edge hard into the buckle, and goes for the F-U, but Edge counters with a jumping DDT for 2. It didn't look like his finisher, so I won't call it that. Edge goes up top and Cena tries to give him the F-U from UP THERE, but Edge counters the move into a modified electric chair drop from the top. Edge tries for the SPEAR, but misses, ramming himself into the corner, so Cena gives him the F-U for the victory at 14:01 (what was shown). The enthusiasm of the soldiers during each of the matches on this show makes me feel warm inside. It's nice to see.
Match Analysis: Liked it very much, and I bet these two could do better. Note: I haven't seen any of their other matches. The time period of this match is a dark period to me. Easy ***. It's nice to get a match like this on the show.
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Video of General Casey coming to the ring, and saying thanks to the WWE, and then, talking about how the country can be proud of our soldiers. Then we see pictures of the talent with the soldiers, and we cut to CM Punk saying "happy holidays" to everyone at home. Shelton Benjamin does the same, but like he doesn't even want to be there. "That it?" These two are up next!!!
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Yeah, it's CM Punk vs. Shelton Benjamin. Sounds good.
Blow-by-blow: Punk gives Shelton a quick armdrag, and Shelton tries to slam Punk afterward. But Punk counters it into an armdrag, and pushes Shelton down to the canvas. Punk Irish whips Shelton, but Shelton goes all.....STOP, and ducks out of the ring, under the bottom rope. Shelton acts like he's going to leave the area, but Punk runs out quickly and tosses him back into the ring. Punk gives Shelton a few forearms, but Shelton rams Punk shoulderfirst into the ringpost. Shelton begins to work on said shoulder, by ramming him arm first into the buckle. Shelton gives Punk a shoulderbreaker, and applies an armbar. Shelton pulls Punk down to the canvas by his hair, which gets 2. Shelton goes back to work on the arm, until Punk powers out of the hold, and gives Shelton a leg lariat. He clotheslines Shelton and gives him a few high knees, then rams Shelton into the buckle. He kinda charges into Shelton, and gives him the running bulldog for 2. Punk goes up top, and Shelton gives him a pop-up springboard superplex for 2. That was NICE. Shelton misses the SHELTON SPLASH (that's a lame name), and Punk gets the roll-up for 3 at 4:47.
Match Analysis: Typically I hate out of nowhere finishes, right? But since the match was so short, it wasn't really out of nowhere, considering it took place during the finishing sequence. It was **1/4. I would LOVE to see these two in a 20 minute match. Is Shelton any good on the stick? If so, he's being WASTED.
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It's Johnny Nitro w/Melina vs. The Undertaker. The fans wanted to see Melina's whole deal when she gets on the apron, but Nitro covers her up to make sure they can't. Taker doesn't go through his whole entrance, either.
Blow-by-blow: Nitro avoids being crushed by Taker, until he corners Taker, and beats him up. Taker picks him up, and does the same to him in the corner, and applies an armbar afterward. Taker gives him a knucklelock slam, and takes Nitro to the buckle, where Taker gives him OLD SCHOOL. Taker goes for the LAST RIDE, but Melina gets on the apron to distract. She screams a whole bunch, and Nitro gives Taker an enziguri. Nitro gives Taker a dropkick, but he gets clotheslined, and taken hard to the buckle. Taker gives him SNAKEEYES, and a big boot. Of course, the CHOKESLAM and TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER finish at 3:57.
Match Analysis: It was what the troops wanted to see, that being a squash. *1/2.
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Now the national anthem with Lillian Garcia is shown...and then the soldiers talk about their experience in Iraq, prior to the mortar attack that took place near the makeshift arena they were going to build. Yeah, a mortar attack. Sheesh.
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The next match on the show is Hardcore Holly vs. Bobby Lashley (ECW Champion) in a non-title bout. Holly's looking a bit too old to pull off the tough guy role they're probably still having him play.
Blow-by-blow: Lashley gives Holly a press slam, so Holly decides he wants to test Lashley's strength. They lock-up, and quickly, Holly kicks him in the gut. Lashley gives him a shoulderblock, and a snap suplex for 2. Lashley then gives Holly a delayed vertical suplex for 2, and Holly bails to the outside. Lashley tries to follow with a baseball slide, but misses, and Holly rams him into the steel steps. Back inside, Holly rams Lashley into the turnbuckle, and applies an armbar. Holly wraps Lashley's around the 2nd rope, presumably working on it, trying to make him submit. Lashley gives Holly a belly-to-belly suplex, and a shoulderblock. Lashley gives Holly a clothesline, and a discus punch to the back of the neck. He then gives Holly a torture rack backbreaker, and another snap suplex for 2. Holly chops Lashley, and Lashley misses a charge to the corner. Holly tries to give him the ALABAMA SLAM, but Lashley rolls through the hold, turning it into a sunset flip, which gets 2. Lashley gives him a "Bulldog" style powerslam, and that gets 3, at 6:27.
Match Analysis: I don't think Lashley's very good, but I can't say so for sure. His moveset is so thin that he repeated a move. Not only that, he reeks of blandness. 3/4*.
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Interview with an Iraqi Army Captain...I was being talked to, so I didn't catch what he said...and then Chris Masters talks about the Masterlock Challenge later on.
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The next match is a non-title bout, between UMAGA and Jeff Hardy (Intercontinental Champion). Umaga's cool, I guess.
Blow-by-blow: Umaga gives Hardy a back elbow, and then misses a clothesline. He also misses a crossbody, and Hardy goes for a sunset flip. Umaga tries to sit on Hardy, but Hardy gives him a seated dropkick. Umaga bails out, and Hardy gives him a baseball slide, and a pescado. Umaga catches him on the pescado though, and rams him into the ringpost and steel steps. Umaga gives him a headbutt, and a legdrop. He then gives Hardy a kick to the back, and quickly applies a nervehold, before giving Hardy a samoan drop. Umaga goes up top, but misses the big splash. Hardy gives him a few clotheslines and a dropkick, but it's not putting Umaga down. He gives Umaga a jawbreaker, and WHISPER IN THE WIND, which finally puts Umaga down, for the 2 count. I wanted to capitalize Umaga's name throughout the review, but it's too hard. I might do it in the future. Umaga goes for the SAMOAN SPIKE, but Hardy avoids it and eventually gets a TWIST OF FATE. Hardy goes for the SWANTON, but hits the knees of Umaga. Umaga gives him the running ass to face at the corner, and the SAMOAN SPIKE, which gets 3 at 5:51.
Match Analysis: The finish was anti-climatic, but the match was still fun. *3/4, and another match that could be better given time.
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Carlito's talking to a female soldier, cause he's cool and all...prior to his match against Randy Orton (RAW Tag Team Champion).
Blow-by-blow: Orton doesn't look healthy when on the juice. That's just a first observation. Orton goes to the headlock, but Carlito reverses it, and comes back with a few left hands. Carlito gives Orton the 10 punch in the corner, and gives him an armdrag. Orton comes back with a dropkick, and then kicks him all over, prior to doing that pose of his. Have I ever mentioned how funny I find the pose? Orton gives Carlito a spinning side slam, and goes to the chinlock. See, before this match, I told my brother he'd do two of three moves. European uppercut, dropkick, and chinlock. I didn't pay attention to see if he did any European uppercuts, because once he did two of them, I quit looking for it. Carlito powers out and gives Orton a back suplex, and a few lefts. Carlito gives Orton a kneelift and clothesline, which gets a 2 count. Carlito gives him a springboard back elbow, which looks about as smooth as any springboard move I've seen. Orton quickly comes back with that Mike Sanders 3.0 backbreaker, and tries to give Carlito the RKO. He's unable to, and near the turnbuckle, Carlito tries the BACKSTABBER. He can't get that either, as Orton holds onto the ropes, preventing himself from being pulled down. Now Orton tries to pin Carlito with his feet on the ropes for 2, and once the referee catches him, Carlito springs up, and rolls Orton up, for 3, while holding Orton's tights and telling the crowd to hush and not ruin his win. Time of the fall was 5:07.
Match Analysis: Cute finish. Really, I loved it. *1/2. Kinda elaborate, but who cares. At least it didn't get screwed up.
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Santa Claus comes to the ring, along with Maria, Crystal and Torrie Wilson. The troops oughta love that. They throw some panties in the crowd, and the troops fight over it. See? Chris Masters comes out, and he doesn't believe in Santa. He hates Christmas, too. Well, he's going to let Santa have a go at breaking the MASTERLOCK. Santa can't do it, so Masters throws him aside. Now, a troop named Jose Avila comes into the ring...yeah, he's tiny. Especially in comparison to Masters. Anyhow, Masters has him locked in, and JBL is SANTA CLAUS! He attacks Masters, and the soldier breaks the MASTERLOCK. Heh. I like how he jumped around and no-sold the move afterward. the MASTERLOCK'S BEEN BROKEN, BAH GAWD, says JR. And now, JBL gives Masters a CLOTHESLINE FROM BAGHDAD. See, I was going to write that once I saw the move, but the announce team stole the words from out of my mouth.
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That's the end of the show, after pictures from Iraq.
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Rating: Good. I thought the show was fun, and had decent matches. So yeah, good.
Best Segment: Cena vs. Edge
Worst Segment: Hardcore Holly vs. Bobby Lashley. Both suck.
Loudest Sound: Taker and Cena
No Sound: Nobody. Everyone was getting some sort of reaction.
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NWA is next. I'm not reviewing the Christmas RAW, because it'll be up again when the MNW hits that point.
Yeah, it was really a Scotsman who would have been first in flight. He would have, nah nah nah. He was working on heavier than air flight before the Wright Brothers. But he died. Darn.
Today is the anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight. Some people just can't give credit to the Yanks where credit is due.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display...irst_to_fly.php
Well, he MAY have, but you can't really say he WOULD have because he uh, DIED. In a GLIDER accident.
On Saturday night (12/15) I had my first offical pro match at Devil Mountain Wrestling. Well technically my first match was the Halloween Battleroyal that took place in Oct, but I'm not counting that match, so the match over the weekend was my first offical match.
The night started with me cutting a promo after the first match..that I fucking butchered. I kinda had certain points I wanted to get over but I think I tried to structure it to much and tried to hard to get those certain points over with the crowd, which caused me to over think and stumble over my words. I really really butchered that promo and felt really shitty about it afterwards. I actually heard Helfyre in the back yelling stuff during the promo...he had been doing that all night long as well. Helfyre was being really..umm..loud that night. Which was funny because even though we had a good crowd..they were dead for a good majority of the night. I didn't get it. Even with big moves, the crowd kinda sat on their hands, which was weird because it was pretty much our normal crowd. Luckily they did get loud for my match.
So I Ref'ed another match that night then after a little while longer, my match finally came up. It was a 6 man tag match, with America's Most Hated Anton Vorhees, Alexis Darevko, and Sheik Kahn Abodi vs The Fun Atheltic Guys Kimo and Chico and myself. The match started with Kimo working on Anton. Kimo got a early advantage and decided to keep tagging his tag partner Chico in. The Fun Atheltic Guys wouldn't tag me in. They felt they were protecting me from America's Most Hated.
At one point, Kimo and Chico were able to get all three members of America's Most Hated outside of the ring. Kimo and Chico invited me to come into the ring and celebrate with them...but they ended picking me up and throwing me to the outside on top of America's Most Hated. Here's a picture...
After being tossed out and on top of America's Most Hated, I threw Anton Vorhees back into the ring and returned to my corner. After being not tagged after a few more tags, Chico went for another tag of Kimo and I cut Kimo off and tagged myself in. I was tired of being ignored and wanted my chance to shine.
After being tagged in, I went right to work on Vorhees. I snapped him over with a snap mare and gave him a good kick to the back. I then picked him up and gave him a nice LOUD chop to his chest, backing Anton to the ropes. I whipped him off the ropes as I planned to hit Anton with a clothesline but instead, Anton did a Pa-lae (Aj Styles back flip kick) kick and caught me on top of the head. It all went down hill from there.
I proceeded to get my ass kicked for what seemed like forever. America's Most Hated kept me away from my corner and kept tagging themselves in and out. I was getting my ass handed to me as Anton Vorhees, Alexis Darevko, and Sheik Kahn Abodi kept hitting big moves on me but I was always able to cut out. Finally at one point, I caught my bearings and ducked a clothlines from Abodi and when I turned around, I caught Sheik's kick, I then spun Sheik around and gave him a stunner.
We were both down and out as the Ref started his 10 count on us. Sheik crawled over to his corner and made the tag, before the fresh member of America's Most Hated was able to catch me, I dove and tagged the fresh Kimo. Kimo came in and cleaned house and was on FIRE~! After a few minutes, Kimo and Chico hit a combo backstabber/double stomp on Alexis Darevko. I noticed that Anton was trying to sneak into the ring and I came in and cut Anton off and gave him a clothesline which knocked him back over the ring. Kimo and Chico told me to climb to the top rope and I did. When I got to the top, Kimo and Chico grabbed me and threw me off the top rope with me landing a splash on the fallen Alexis Darevko. I stayed on top of Darevko to try and get us a pinfall victory. Kimo and Chico put their hands on my back to make the cover that much stronger and the Ref counted to 3.
We had won the match. After the match, I celebrated with Kimo and Chico and did a "insult pray" to Sheik as America's Most Hated stumbled back to the locker room. After America's Most Hated got to the back, a good chunk of the DMW locker room came out from the back and made their ring to celebrate my first match. As soon as I saw Mike Hayashi and Helfyre come out from the curtain, I broke down.
At first, I was just relieved and happy that I actually made it through the match. After two years of on and off again training, after two years of doing sound and Ref'ing and doing other things at various shows, I finally got to have my first offical Pro Wrestling match and these guys, who I see as family, came out and give me that praise, just made me very happy. I was happy with how the match went, but seeing these guys come out and to tell me I did great put me on all levels of happiness and I broke down because of it. It became a very emotional thing for me but it was a happy emotional thing.
After the match was over, I broke down what I had to and packed everything up in my car and made my way over to Oakland for Rocky Horror and damnit I was tired and my back was sore (Dareveko lit my back up with chops) but I still made it through Rocky and the drive home. After I got home, I passed the hell out.
It was a good night and a good match but I think I'm going to put my next wrestling match on hold for right now and continue to Referee. I really enjoy Ref'ing at the moment and I feel I still need some more training before I start a full-time with just wrestling.
Brady Anderson - Outfielder
Boston Red Sox 1988
Baltimore Orioles 1988-2001
Cleveland Indians 2002
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: 3 (1992, 1996, 1997)
League Leader
1996: Extra Base Hits
Career Ranks
None of note
Best Performance
August 7, 1998 - Baltimore at Minnesota
Career high five hits which included two homeruns and two doubles.
Hall of Fame Stats
Gray Ink: Batting - 37 (643) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 26.1 (376) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 38.0 (473) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Batters in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Batters: Johnny Callison, Devon White, Rick Monday, Roy White, Lloyd Moseby, Chet Lemon, Claudell Washington, Jimmy Wynn, Ray Lankford, Amos Otis
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1988: 3/1.4
1989: 7/2.1
1990: 7/3.0
1991: 6/1.8
1992: 29/11.3
1993: 18/6.4
1994: 12/6.2
1995: 19/6.6
1996: 28/10.0
1997: 26/7.2
1998: 13/4.4
1999: 23/8.8
2000: 15/5.4
2001: 8/2.4
2002: 0/0.2
Career Win Shares: 214
Career WARP3: 77.3
My Stupid Opinion
A bit of a late bloomer as his breakout year didn't come until age 28 as to that point he looked like he might be a bust. Will always be remembered for being the least likely player ever to hit 50 homeruns. He's the only player in MLB history to hit 50 homeruns in one season without having a 30+ homerun season at any other point in his career (not counting Prince Fielder). Interesting enough his breakout year of '92 is ranked as being better than his '96 season by both Win Shares and WARP. I'm guessing it has to do with his 53 stolen bases that year and I think he was probably a much better defensive outfielder at that point. Also in 1996 everyone seemed to be hitting 50 homeruns so his year doesn't really standout. Not as good as what his similar batters show as Wynn and Otis in particular were much better players.
10 p.m.
• So one week ago I found out that the pill isn’t 100 percent effective. Just what happened on that fateful day? Well, Mrs. kkk was at her parents’ house and then I got the phone call. You can figure out who is who.
“I have something to tell you.”
“OK. What is it?”
“I don’t want to tell you over the phone.”
“Then why did you say anything?”
“I don’t know. I just need to tell you something.”
“What happened?”
I wonder if she found porn on our computer?
“I don’t want to tell you over the phone.”
Wait, her dad just went to the hospital with some gall stone issue. Maybe it isn’t about porn on our computer.
“Is it health related?”
“Yes.”
OK, so her dad has cancer, but at least she didn’t find porn on our computer.
“Well what is it? You expect me to just sit here and wait for you to come home and find out?”
“I’m pregnant. I took five pregnancy tests and they all were positive.”
Maybe I would have wanted her to find porn on our computer.
All in all, the better half was shocked I took the news as well as I did. Look, I make no bones about my feelings toward children. However, we’re married, own our home, have decent jobs and have a rather comfortable standard of living (at least by my standards). I guess this is the next step or something. The biggest concern I have is for the health of the fetus (or “the bean” as Mrs. kkk calls he/she/it). My dreams of all this being one big mishap were dashed when we went to the doctors on Tuesday and everyone was just going about this like she was actually expecting. No, “well, your positive tests could have been the result of too much fiber” or something like that. No such luck.
We’re not sure when the actual conception took place, but right now the docs are guessing Mrs. kkk is four-six weeks knocked up. Here’s how fun my next eight months are going to be: When we went grocery shopping this week, she wanted some Chinese noodle dish. After we got home she said she wanted me to make it because she was feeling tired. Christ, she’s going to pull this shit now? OK, so while doing the dishes already in the sink I made her dinner. After slaving over the stove I brought her food out. I went back in the kitchen to make my dinner. Suddenly I see her running with her hand over her mouth into the bathroom. Seconds later I heard it. “BLLLLLLLLLLLLECH.”
Now come on – I’m not that bad a cook.
10 a.m.
• Since I’m doing GREAT this week, let’s seal the deal:
Arizona @ New Orleans (4.5)
I was going to go with the Cards, but I heard that several Cardinal receivers will be game-time decisions.
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay (3.5)
This one might be interesting to see in regards to how the Falcon players react to their coach leaving. How much more can these guys go through.
(3.5) Baltimore @ Miami
The Ravens shot their wad against the Patriots and got rolled over the next week against the Colts. Now will they come back with a vengeance against the Dolphins or will Miami finally get that first win? Christ, I don’t know. If I go with Baltimore then Miami will win for sure. If I go with Miami, then this will be another one of those weeks where I say, “they have to win SOMETIME” and the ‘Fins don’t. Well, because it’s always fun to see the Ravens lose, I’ll go with them, surely giving Miami its first win of the season.
Buffalo @ Cleveland (5.5)
You know, I was going to go with Cleveland. Then I looked outside and saw how shitty the weather is and figured it can’t be much better in Cleveland. Here’s hoping for a close game.
(9.5) Green Bay @ St. Louis
Uh-oh. Favre’s playing and it’s a DOME. Wait, he’s already won in a dome this year? OK.
Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh (3.5)
The Jags always play the Steelers tough, so I’m sticking with them. Steelers will score 17.
N.Y. Jets @ New England (23.5)
Once again, I’m hoping Mother Nature does a better job of keeping the Pats at bay than the Jets.
(7.5) Seattle @ Carolina
It’s Carolina at home.
(4.5) Tennessee @ Kansas City
I have nothing to say about this game. Uh, go Tennessee-D?
(10.5) Indianapolis @ Oakland
I have nothing to say about this game. Uh, go Indianapolis-O?
Detroit @ San Diego (10.5)
Here’s hoping the Lions pulled a “Ravens” where they put everything out on the field the week before and now are ready to get rolled over. Come on, Lions. Quit.
Philadelphia @ Dallas (10.5)
Most people have been talking about the Patriots wanting blood against the Jets. How about T.O. and the Eagles?
Washington @ N.Y. Giants (5.5)
I’m used to this by now. The Redskins will outplay the va-Giants for three quarters and Emily will throw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
Chicago @ Minnesota (9.5)
Now that Minnesota is the TEAM NOBODY WANTS TO FACE IN THE PLAYOFFS, I’m wondering if they’ll cast a stinker now. Actually, I feel kinda bad for the Vikings quarterback. He was getting blasted early on, but I saw a stat last night that said the team was 7-2 when he starts. Uh, yay?
11:59 p.m.
• So here I am again in the office pulling a 12+ hour shift to get shit done that nobody else cares about getting to our customers. (Well, I'm home now, but I just got back from work so this counts.) Actually, this one is a funny story because my idiot big boss (not the usual “idiot boss” I talk about) just got caught in a lie by one of our directors. Of course, it doesn’t really matter because nothing will be done, but it’s funny nevertheless. Here’s a brief rundown.
I’m to publish information for the next several months about something from an outside source within our organization. Boss wants to be the COMMUNICATIONS LIASION, meaning NOTHING goes to me until he APPROVES it. Fair enough. I get no information. I mention my lack of material to the boss on the day of my deadline to collect material for publication. He says he hasn’t received anything from said director, who is the “Communications Liaison” for the other side of this project (all information from her side is supposed to be filtered through her and given to my boss). I smell bullshit because this director TOLD me she sent my boss material. I give this director a call and she’d furious because she says she gave material to my boss WEEKS ago. She wants to talk to my boss. No problem.
This is when it gets good.
My boss tells the director, after she tells him that she sent him e-mails containing materials she wanted published, that there were no attachments in her e-mails with the information in question. Riiiiiiiight. When I heard this b.s. I told the director that she could go into her “sent” archive and look at the messages she sent out and see if there was an attachment included. (She’s not the most tech-savvy person out there.) Turns out the director didn’t even need to do that because during this conversation between my boss and director my boss was reading a piece of information the director wanted published and thought he was reading from an old document. Nope. He was reading from a document that she e-mailed him – you know, that attachment he said he never got.
Oops.
Long story short: Because my boss did NOTHING while COMMUNICATIONS LIASION, I get to do a shitload of work on a Saturday. Because as it turns out, the information wasn’t nearly enough to cover the reserved space I was told to set aside. Now if I would have received this information in a timely manner, this wouldn’t have been a big deal. However, when it’s post-deadline it becomes a big deal. But you know what – that’s OK. I spent 12 hours in the office when nobody else was there, and I’ll be spending that time at home on December 28 when everyone else is there. Oh, and I’ll be spending that extra chunk of time at an office Christmas party this Thursday – the office Christmas party to my new job.
[Now you could have said that I should have reminded my boss earlier about my lack of material. Fair enough. However, after four years I've learned that it's best to just keep your mouth shut until something is due because I'm dealing with people who can't do their jobs and I'm not their mommy. Believe me, I knew about this lack of content and prepared for it. Because of this, I'm still right on schedule to my bigger deadlines. Oh, yeah, I also had to manually stuff 1,000+ envelopes, which I was told by my boss TWICE that this menial task that really should be outsourced, was more important to do than the job I was hired to perform. Any more questions as to why a) I'm leaving, and b) I try to keep my distance from these people?]
It’s odd. I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and I must admit this is a pretty awesome feeling. The last time I left a job to take another one in the immediate vicinity was in 1995 when I was in community college. (Well, that job I went to I ended up getting fired from, so if you want to count that one instead then my last time I jumped jobs was 1996.) Otherwise, every job I’ve had since then I left because I was moving 3-5 hours away. Man is this a great feeling. You think about “well, this will be the last time I have to deal with this shit,” or “no problem, I won’t have to bother with this again.” My only question now is when should I give my notice. Here’s my problem. I’m an hourly employee, which I prefer because then you don’t get fucked over (as much) when it comes to what you work and what you get paid for. We have pay periods that span two weeks. I have four days off during the week of December 24-28 (two holiday, one vacation, one from the hours I worked above). If I give my notice now, I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to screw me out of this money. So I have to wait until Thursday January 3 when my check gets direct deposited at 12:01 a.m. before saying “see ya.” Now I would stay two weeks after the first week of January, but there’s a catch. I would want my vacation/sick days for 2008 cashed out. In advance. I know they would never do that, so the only thing I’m pondering is this:
1) Do I come in, give my resignation, say “see ya” and leave?
or
2) Do I just put my letter on my boss’ desk and disappear with all my belongings?
I’m still undecided on this one. As much as I want to see the look of shock (or perhaps lack thereof), I think it would be equally awesome just to have me like I was never there and when they go into my office all they see is nothing. Either way, I got about two weeks to decide.
8 p.m.
• Gimmie Cincy over the 49ers.
9 p.m.
• So one of my many unfunny running gags is the “one of the worst things you can do to a Muslim male” quips I occasionally do around here. Could another one of these lines be “global warming causes fill-in-the-blank.”
• I heard this story on the radio today and had to roll my eyes.
I wonder why? How about because those that don’t pull all-nighters have already STUDIED and actually took the time to LEARN? I remember in college I transferred my credits from a community college to a four-year institution. Even though all my credits transferred, there were a few “intro” classes I had to sit through. So there I was, one of the few “upper classmen” in a room full of freshmen (and women, wouldn’t want to offend anyone). I was an oddball because I actually completed my midterm assignment early and actually turned in my work a few days before it was due. However, I remember hearing a few of my younger classmates talk to one another on the day this paper was due and bragging about how late they stayed up the night before to complete this assignment. A week or two later I heard these same people complain about the grade they got. One of my favorite lines was, “This isn’t fair. Do you know how long I worked on this?”
Oh, and want to know the source of this survey?
One-hundred twenty students? Good God.
Agreed. Plus you are in such a rush that you don’t really accomplish anything. Whenever I’m working on a project, I never turn it in on the same day I produce the material. Unless I’m given something on the same day it’s due, I’ll always complete an assignment, leave for the day and look over it the next day. Works for me.
Chuck Finley - Starting Pitcher
California/Anaheim Angels 1986-1999
Cleveland Indians 2000-2002
St. Louis Cardinals 2002
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: 5 (1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000)
League Leader
1993: Complete Games
1994: Innings
Career Ranks
K: 23rd
K/9: 55th
Best Performance
May 23, 1995 - New York at California
Matches his career high 15 strikeotus while two hitting the Yankees in Mariano Rivera's MLB debut.
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 6 (363) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 156 (86) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 27.0 (170) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 53.5 (230) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: None
Top 10 Similar Pitchers: Mark Langston, Mike Torrez, Vida Blue, Doyle Alexander, Mickey Lolich, Fernando Valenzuela, Curt Simmons, Billy Pierce, Orel Hershiser, Joe Bush
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1986: 4/1.8
1987: 3/1.7
1988: 8/4.1
1989: 19/7.0
1990: 23/9.6
1991: 14/5.9
1992: 11/4.1
1993: 19/8.4
1994: 14/7.1
1995: 12/6.5
1996: 16/8.7
1997: 11/4.8
1998: 17/7.2
1999: 14/5.7
2000: 16/7.7
2001: 3/1.9
2002: 9/4.9
Career Win Shares: 213
Career WARP3: 97.0
My Stupid Opinion
Although it might not be saying much, Finley is probably the second best first ballot player this year. Was an extremely durable pitcher as in his 15 years as a starter he pitched more than 180 innings in 13 of them. Probably was a tad underrated as the Angels were rarely contenders during his career. Ranks in the Top 30 all-time in strikeouts but also ranks in the Top 30 all-time in walks. In the end though he'll end probably be remembered best for getting his ass kicked by his then wife Tawny Kitaen.
