What We Learned Last Night: The only team capable of beating USC in the Coliseum is Stanford. Hey they got the last two wins there.
Everything continues to be completely fucked up this year. We're now down to ten BCS conference undefeated teams and only three of them would anyone have expected to be at this point. Again I always give the benefit of the doubt to those teams so all of them are in my Top 10, even UConn. Also decided not to rank any two loss teams for this week, although that will go out the door next week. Sure you could argue Florida but they lost Auburn, who lost to Mississippi State and all three of those teams have two loses. I can't really justify ranking Mississippi State above Florida but how can you rank Florida above Auburn if they lost them at home?
The only one loss teams that I don't have ranked are Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Tech has played just about the weakest schedule of any BCS conference team to this point and lost to a bad Oklahoma State team. I did a double take when I noticed A&M was 5-1 as they've looked like complete shit against any team with a pulse but they pulled out close wins over Fresno State and Oklahoma State to keep their season from turning into a disaster. Those two happen to play each other next week so whoever wins I'll finally rank them.
But really none of this means anything, so don't bother reading it.
1. LSU
2. Ohio State
3. California
4. South Florida
5. Boston College
6. Missouri
7. Cincinnati
8. Arizona State
9. Kansas
10. Connecticut
11. South Carolina
12. Oregon
13. Oklahoma
14. West Virginia
15. Kentucky
16. USC
17. Illinois
18. Virginia Tech
19. Wisconsin
20. Florida State
21. Indiana
22. Hawaii
23. Boise State
24. Wyoming
25. Virginia
8:30 p.m.
• So this weekend I saw some MSNBC pseudo-“To Catch a Predator” thing that dealt with child sex shops in Asia. Holy Christ was that messed up. Eight-year-olds promising blowjobs you’d like or your money back. Funny thing was they busted some guy from Oklahoma. He was giving the undercover guy there some “tips” on how to get away with banging kids, and when he was confronted on this back in the States (actually, it was Guam but whatever) you could see his face turn pale once he found out he was busted. Anyway, after this show was some “American Runaways” show, where these idiot teens were homeless, despite having ample opportunity to get housing. My favorite was some trans-sexual/gender who got booted out of her government-funded apartment because he/she couldn’t follow the rules. You know, oppressive things like get a job interview, visit a food pantry and not bringing Johns back to the pad for prostitution. And I’m supposed to feel bad for these people?
12:30 p.m.
• So we went to see Ron White last night. Eh. Why the hell were people laughing at material he has already sold on millions upon millions of DVDs? Oh well, if it makes them go home happy, then so be it. Actually, there were several events that happened earlier in the day that made me laugh even more than the two hours I sat at the Benedum Center.
Before leaving for this event, Mrs. kkk and I were watching some house show where several people buy houses and the former owners talk about what they liked about their houses and the new owners talk about all the wholesale changes they are going to do to said living residences. This episode centered around several people from New Jersey. Enough said. Jesus were these people annoying. But what got me laughing was that some of these families were getting their houses and making serious changes to it. I’m not talking about a new carpet here and a new paint job there. This one family totally flattened the second floor to the two-story house they purchased. My question is if you’re going to do this kind of remodeling, wouldn’t it have been easier to just find a different house? This couple bought the house for $500,000 and they had a $150,000 budget to remodel. You know what I would do with a $150,000 budget to make remodeling adjustments? I’d buy a big television, PAY OFF my house and put the rest of the money in the bank. Oh well, it’s not my money.
After watching this show, we left for downtown Shittsburgh for dinner. Mrs. kkk took me to the Hard Rock Cafe – the first time I’ve ever been in one of these. Overpriced food, but whatever. This was her plan. What was funny is that she made reservations so when we got there we only had a 5-10 minute wait. While waiting, there were a handful of groups, ranging from 2-8 that tried to get seated only to be told there was an approximate 30-minute wait. Uh, people, this is a SATURDAY EVENING in one of the more happening parts of an urban center. Do you expect to get immediate seating? The best moment came with the family of 8 learning that there would be a considerable wait and the husband/dad threw his arms up in the air. Yeah, that’ll do something. Jackass. There was another group of young people who must have been doing something homecoming-related that went in and out in a matter of minutes. Seriously, RESERVATIONS. They are your friend.
.194
.087
37
6
What are these numbers? They are a quick summary of how completely incompetent the Cubs were against the Arizona Diamondbacks in their NLDS series that ended last night in a 3-0 Arizona sweep.
.194 = the Cubs' batting average for the series
.087 = their batting average with runners in scoring position (2-for-23), and one of those two was a weak infiled single
37 = the numbers of baserunners they had in the series
6 = the number of those baserunners that scored
How do you lose a playoff series and look completely pathetic in doing so? That's a really good start.
It also helps to have two of your biggest bats (Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez) combine for two hits, your best reliever over the second-half of the season implode, and to hit into about 14 rally-killing double plays.
I really don't know why I thought this year might be different for the Cubs. Maybe I'll never learn. Still...being swept in the first round is a better end to the season than finishing with the worst record in the league as they did last year.
At least that's what I've been telling myself for the last 12 hours...
It's time for another sim tournament. The concept here is simple. The 64 best teams in organized baseball. One week, single elimination. All 30 MLB teams, all 30 AAA teams, and four AA teams. Much like the NCAA tournament, upsets galore. The basics are that there is no rest for teams. When you win, you go on to face a new team the next day. The four AA teams consist of the champions of the Texas, Southern and Eastern Leagues, plus the Reading Phillies (because it's my tournament and they're only Red Sox fodder anyway). The champions of the International and Pacific Coast Leagues get a home field matchup in the first round. Home field goes first to the team from the higher level, then to the team with the better record.
Here is how the field fleshes out.
Boston
Reading Phillies
Richmond
Nashville
Minnesota
Indianapolis
LA Dodgers
Norfolk
San Diego
Round Rock
Florida
Tucson
NY Mets
Charlotte
Chicago White Sox
New Orleans
Arizona
Ottawa
Kansas City
Iowa
Chi. Cubs
Las Vegas
Houston
Omaha
Atlanta
Pawtucket
Texas
Louisville
Pittsburgh
Durham
NY Yankees
San Antonio Mission
LA Angels
Trenton
Tampa Bay
Toledo
Milwaukee
Tacoma
Oakland
Albuquerque Isotopes
Colorado
Memphis
Baltimore
Fresno
Detroit
Syracuse
Washington
Salt Lake City
Philadelphia
Portland
San Francisco
Rochester
Seattle
Columbus
Cincinnati
Buffalo
Toronto
Colorado Springs
St. Louis
Oklahoma City
Sacramento
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Cleveland
Huntsville Stars
Expect first round results next Saturday.
10 a.m.
• So about a week ago we bought a new comforter at Targert on clearance. I was a little skeptical about this keeping the better half warm, especially it wasn’t as “thick” as our current comforter, which is on is last legs. However, I must say this mo fo’ is doing the job. Several times already I’ve woken up in a sweat due to this thing. The real test will come in January, but for now it’s coming through with flying colors. When we were at Target, I suggested getting two or three of these comforters because they were on clearance. Mrs. kkk said “Why would we need more than one?” Well this morning JJ threw up on this dry-clean only comforter. Guess where we are going later today? Yep.
Hey everybody, I'm actually making a new post! Hooray for you! Truth is, even though I haven't updated in awhile....or for a very long time anyhow, I'm actually kinda bored and cooking dinner while waiting for Letterman to come on, so I figured I'd take the time to post something since I haven't in a long while.
First things first, for those who haven't seen the posts in the Indy Wrestling thread, Devil Mountain Wrestling (where I'm training) has been running shows for the past few months. The shows have been going really well, I really haven't heard anything negitive from any of the fans who have gone to the shows, so I'm very pleased about that. We have another show coming up on the 13th (next Saturday) and I'm looking forward to it. Mainly because we're having a Halloween Battle Royal. The Halloween Battle Royal is just a royal rumble type of battle royal except all the people in the match dress up as other wrestlers or in some type of costume. I'm actually going to be in the match, I know what I'm going as but I'm going to wait until after the match happens to actually post what I went as and how it went, and yes I'll post about it, sooner or later.
Speaking of Devil Mountain Wrestling, training has been going.....umm..alright. About a month ago, I thought I was doing really well, I actually figured out how to get my body to get a front flip and it seemed I was getting things more and more, but then we took about a week in a half off after the last show, and it all seemed to just go away. I forgot how to front flip and it seems, I'm getting more and more sloppy with learning moves. Mentally I can figure these things out but phyiscally, I'm having a lot of trouble. I don't know why all of a sudden it seems I have forgotten everything I have learned, hopefully I'll be able to get back to where I was before we took that week in a half off.
I'm also about 90% sure, I won't be continuing my wrestling training in the beginning of 2008. When you train with DMW, you sign a contract. One contract, the first contract, (I think this contract is still around.) you sign a 3 month contract to see if you want to stick around after 3 months. The second contract is a 1 year contract. Basically you train for one year and if you decide to stop training because it's not for you, you still have to finish the payments. My contract ends in Jan. 2008 as I started in Jan of 2007.
There's a few reasons why I'm pretty sure I won't keep training at least in the beginning of 2008.
1. (The Main Reason) I just can't afford to pay for another year. It's a monthly payments but currently money is really tight and to be honest, the stress of living pay check to pay check is something that's really taking a mental drain on me. So I think it's just best to wait a little bit and get my money issues straighten before I put more effort into my training.
2. I would like more free time, wrestling training is either 3 to 4 days a week and sometimes I don't have a lot of free time and there's some stuff I still want to do and learn. For example, while I do have a good job at the moment, within a few years it'll most likely a dead-end job. I think I want to go back to school and learn a trade so I can get a job that most likely won't be a dead-end job. I'm thinking I want to become a electriction or a plumber.
3. I'm really enjoy Refereeing. I'm having a blast doing it, and everytime I do a show as a Ref, I enjoy doing it more and more. I'm really thinking about just being a Referee. Yes, when I first got into it, I wanted to become a wrestler but with my troubles in training, Refereeing just feels right. I'm not a 100% sure right now, but I'm really thinking about just being a Ref, so after my training contract ends, I'm just going to Ref for a few months and see where it takes me.
Now that doesn't mean I won't get back into the ring and re-start my training down the road. I just want to take a few months to take care of things in my personnal life and see how I feel about just being a Ref.
Being a Ref is going really well for me at the moment. I'm now pretty much working for all the promotions here in North California except for two. One being APW and the other is PCW. I actually can't work for PCW, I've been asked to come up by another Referee, but PCW normally runs on Saturdays in Oroville, and Oroville is something like 2 hours towards Sac...actually past Sacramento and I have Rocky Horror on Saturdays, so traveling a few hours in the opposite direction of Rocky isn't really a good idea. I don't work for APW...well because it's APW and I have no desire to work for them, but I am working for just about everywhere else and I couldn't be more pleased with myself.
I'm now Refereeing for Devil Mountain Wrestling, California Championship Wrestling, BRAWL, NAW, and I just started Ref'ing for SPW. SPW also runs a show called Punkslam and I've been asked to Ref for that show as well as long as my schdule lets me. Punkslam is basically a Wrestling show that has Punk bands playing live. I've actually never been to one myself but I hear they're really fun to work. Not only am I working for all those promotions but I'm also (currently) schduled to Referee the Malice at the palace show that's taking place at the Cow Palace in San Fransisco for the WrestleFanFest wrestling convention and it's also schduled to air on Pay Per View. So it's a big thing for me. Depending on how well I perform at the show, a lot of MAJOR doors could open up for me, so that's a big thing.
So right now, other than my actual wrestling training going from better to "what the hell happen?", things have been going good Refereeing and show wise. I'm Ref'ing all over the place and every show I do is doing great.
9:30 p.m.
• I don't know if this guy was any good at his job, but not a "cultural fit." What, was he a Republican?
9:30 p.m.
• The hell?
I always thought he was Mormon, not Jewish.
Back to reality.
• It’s funny how your opinion about an album can change over the years. Take for example the first disc of 2Pac’s “All Eyes On Me.” Oh, I’m sorry, “All Eyez On Me.” When I first got this album back in 1996, my favorite tracks were “All About U,” “Life Goes On” and “No More Pain.” However, whenever I put this disc in I’ve found myself leaning more toward “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” and “Heartz of Men.” Man, I remember back when this album first came out “Life Goes On” was blasting in just about every car/jeep in my corner of suburbia. Thuggin’ ain’t easy. If you ain’t home in time from playing gangsta you’d get grounded. Odd thing is I can’t remember the last time I’ve listened to the second disc of this album. Same goes for the “Remember Me” double-LP that came out after Pac died. Now that I think about it, I can’t recall the last time I’ve listened to a second disc of multi-LP. Let me scan through my CDs.
…
There’s that Ramones compliation and the ACDC Live album, but I forgot all about Rush’s three-disc Chronicles concert album. Damn that was one good purchase.
8:15 p.m.
• Week 5, look alive.
(3.5) Arizona @ St. Louis
I have no reason other than that the Cards had a big win last week, and the Rams have to win sometime – or at least lose by three.
Atlanta @ Tennessee (8.5)
Do I think the Falcons will win? No. I just think the Titans won’t win by a lot.
Carolina @ New Orleans (3.5)
OK, what do I do here? Both teams have fucked me over so far this year. I guess I’ll go with the Saints because the Panthers have boned me more, so now I have to give the Saints a chance to play catch up.
Cleveland @ New England (16.5)
The Pats have to slip up one of these weeks, but I might as well ride this horse until it breaks a leg or two.
Detroit @ Washington (3.5)
Hmm, the red people screwed me over against the Giants, but this should be the time of the season when the Lions start showing us why they get so many high first-round picks.
(2.5) Jacksonville @ Kansas City
For some reason I think this is a steal. Someone from Jacksonville must be hurt or something.
Miami @ Houston (5.5)
Wow. I was about to go with Miami under the “they must win sometime” rule, but why bother. I kinda feel for Joey Porter playing on a shit team like this, but he’s got his ring and he’s got his money. I just hope he doesn’t suffer some terrible injury while finishing out his career.
N.Y. Jets @ N.Y. Giants (3.5)
I wonder how much of a home-field advantage the Giants have this game?
Seattle @ Pittsburgh (5.5)
Hines Ward is out, as is a few other starters. Maybe now Seattle will stop bitching about the Super Bowl. Yeah, the officials hosed you, but you guys lost. Game over. Steelers will score 21.
Tampa Bay @ Indianapolis (10.5)
My first hunch was to go with the Bucs. I decided against it. Let’s see if I should have went with my first instinct.
(3.5) Baltimore @ San Francisco
Bummer. And I thought the 49ers were going to take things to the next level. Oh well.
San Diego @ Denver (1.5)
OK, I’m tired of waiting for the Chargers to turn things around.
Chicago @ Green Bay (3.5)
I am really tempted to go with the Bears on this one. The Packers are coming off a big week, and this is a divisional game. However, I heard a few people are out on the Bears defense.
(10.5) Dallas @ Buffalo
LOL – this is the MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL game? Boy did ESPN get dicked over this “Monday Night” agreement. The only two things I can think of in a positive light regarding this abortion that takes place every Monday night is Ron Jaworski – I like him. Plus the game is on at an earlier time.
Yeah, it's been a while since I posted an entry. I have an excuse however: I've been up to my neck in homework. I've had midterms,quizzes, and papers to do, and I haven't been able to post as many blog entries, or post in TSM, as much as I'd like to. I'll do more later.
kkk's Top 103 Posters
Number 8: Ripper
Wha-? Rippers #8? That’s right n*ggaros and n*ggahoes. Actually, he was first pegged in the teens, but thanks to a few bonus points for diversity concerns he moved up, knocking a few crackers down in the process (figuratively and literally). Ripper and I didn't exactly get off to the best of starts, but over time he realized that I was nothing more than some dopey white guy that, like him, didn’t care too much for stick figures. Now even though there are still a number of important issues we don’t agree on, I can deal with most of them. (If he wants to be daddy to some kid that’s not his then who am I to stop him?) Besides, there are so many other things we can find common ground on – like saving kitties and keeping bathroom habits out of the bedroom. However, for the last time, black people don't tip. That's a fact. And pork chops dipped into applesauce is hella good.
9 p.m.
• Christ. I heard on the radio tonight that cub scout badges are now being recalled due to lead from ... China. Forget about forming a better army, all these people have to do is fuck with our consumer goods.
5 p.m.
• Normally I don’t remember my dreams, but last night’s was a doozy. Well, not really – but I remembered it. I was in this classroom with a few other people I had never seen before. Then Michael Savage comes in and says we have to read our homework assignments to the class. Seeing how I wasn’t around when the homework assignments were given out, I was a little perturbed. After all, I don’t want him to get mad and tell me to die of the AIDS. A few people were to go before me, and from what I heard it seemed that this assignment was to take a person we liked and a person we didn’t like and explain our feelings toward both. When it was my turn I took a blank sheet of paper and pretended like I was reading from that. I began ad-libbing, hoping to make this shit up as I went along. Because I didn’t have time to pick a person I liked and a person I didn’t like, I went with a SWERVE~! And said I was going to take one person and explain what I liked and didn’t like about this subject. My person: Bud Selig.
I started with “Good Bud.” I liked the wild card, which made the baseball playoffs more exciting. Also, it allowed more cities to catch the pennant fever in September and gave teams with good seasons the chance to play onward through October. Savage chuckled. I added that attendance has gone up and revenues have been solid, especially considering the state of America’s National Pastime back in the mid-1990s. Then I talked about “Bad Bud,” which got yet another chuckle out of Savage. I didn’t like inter-league play and the Commissioner’s office treating Barry Bonds like he was the only player who roided up during the past decade. The fact Bud turned a blind eye to when home runs were shooting out of ballparks in the late 1990s only made him look worse when he acted like the end-all solution to baseball’s steroid problem was with Bonds.
It was about this time that my alarm clock went off, and instead of hitting the snooze button 20 times like I normally do I decided to get the hell out of this unconscious state. Sadly, I’ll never know what my grade ended up being. He seemed interested in the topic, although I think he also knew I was making this shit up as I went along. When compared to the other students that read their reports, I deserved the top grade – at least a B+ if I was to be penalized for, you know, not actually doing the assignment.
• In other news, I think I caught a chick checking me out today at a red light. Her windows must have been tinted from the inside.
1 p.m.
• Yeah, because no gal EVER wants her dad to give her away at her wedding.
Christ, when I started dating the future Mrs. kkk 10+ years ago I saw this book with a list of her future flower girls, ring bearers and all that other shit that people do at weddings.
It's that time of year again where I tell you who were best and worst players by position in MLB for the past season, in case you already forgot what did happen this past season. Starting with position players I will rank the Top 30 players in plate appearances at each position, based on the player's primary position for the season. For the position players I take into account five statiscal categories: OPS+, VORP, Equivalent Average, Runs Created (ballpark adjusted per hardballtimes.com), and Win Shares. The rankings are based purely on what the player did during the 2007 season as past performance and potential future value are not taken into account.
This year for each position I'll repost who I had as the best, the most average, and the worst by position from 2004-2006.
Catchers
2004
1. Ivan Rodriguez
15. Gregg Zaun
30. Chad Moeller
2005
1. Victor Martinez
15. Mike Matheny
30. Chris Snyder
2006
1. Joe Mauer
15. A.J. Pierzynski
30. Jose Molina
2007
1. Victor Martinez, Indians
2. Jorge Posada, Yankees
3. Russell Martin, Dodgers
4. Joe Mauer, Twins
5. Josh Bard, Padres
6. Brian McCann, Braves
7. Jason Varitek, Red Sox
8. Kenji Johjima, Mariners
9. Chris Snyder, Diamondbacks
10. Bengie Molina, Giants
11. Carlos Ruiz, Phillies
12. Gregg Zaun, Blue Jays
13. Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers
14. Ramon Hernandez, Orioles
15. Yadier Molina, Cardinals
16. Ronny Paulino, Pirates
17. A.J. Pierzynski, White Sox
18. Paul Lo Duca, Mets
19. John Buck, Royals
20. Brian Schneider, Nationals
21. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Braves/Rangers
22. Johnny Estrada, Brewers
23. Miguel Olivo, Marlins
24. Yorvit Torrealba, Rockies
25. Gerald Laird, Rangers
26. Brad Aumsus, Astros
27. Jason Kendall, A's/Cubs
28. Dioner Navarrao, Devil Rays
29. David Ross, Reds
30. Michael Barrett, Cubs/Padres
Waiting for the Kings to restart their season after the London trip really sucks, I just want to see my team play some games.
We're live (not) from Duluth, and Larry the Ax Hennig is there. I don't know why the guys so overdressed for the occasion, but whatever.
The first match is for the US Title, it's the challenger, Konan v. DEAN MALENKO. I don't know why Konnan is billed as Konan, but regardless, the match begins. The Dungeon of Doom guys were OVER as babyfaces, I've got no clue why. Dean does a nice reversal out of a Konnan armbar, and gives Konnan a stiff kick to the back. Dean slams him, but Konnan kips up and gives Dean an armdrag. What the fuck happened to the Konnan I'm watching in this match. Double feature time with Syxx and he cuts a TERRIBLE promo, about 5 times worse than the Undertaker one I watched 10 minutes ago. Konnan with a rolling clothesline and powerbomb for a two count. Whip to the ropes and Dean comes off with a leg lariat, but Konnan counters that with an elbow drop while Dean's down, and a la magistral rollup for 2. Konnan goes up to the top and misses a ________, then Dean gets the Texas Cloverleaf at 3:30 for the submission. Good while it lasted. *3/4.
Once Malenko exits the ring, he has some words for Eddie Guerrero and Syxx, as he believes the two to be in cahoots. He insults Benoit as well, and I sit stunned in shock that they actually mentioned his name on this channel.
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We've got the MACHO MAN, OOOOOOOOOOOYEAHHHHHHH vs Prince Iaukea for the TV Title in the main event, because the NWO won the right to challenge for any title, whenever they want to challenge for it, at Uncensored. This unnamed guy appeared at Uncensored and attacked Glacier, well that guy is Wrath/Brian Clarke/Adam Bomb.
That ties into this match, as we have Mortis w/James Vandenburg v. Jerry Flynn. Let me say this, Mortis' entrance is the most awesome thing in the history of this very sport. James Vandenburg is Father James Mitchell and the Sinister Minister, in case you didn't know. Holy crap. Tony just called Mortis' kicks back leg front kicks. Wow. Both Flynn and Mortis kick each other for a while because they're both "martial artists," so this match picks up when Mortis jumps off the top rope and hits Flynn with a Rocker Dropper. Vandenburg beats up Flynn a bit from the outside and Mortis goes up to the top. Flynn hits him with a powerbomb from the 2nd rope (yeesh, these guys are busting out teh sick offense), Mortis lowblows him after the cover, and the Flatliner finishes at 4:55. The Flatliner is a samoan drop from the 2nd rope, FWIW. **, I got into it and these two busted their ass. I wonder what they'd do with more time. I really like Mortis, and I'm sure that has something to do with the rating.
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Back from the commercial break and holy crap La Parka's in the ring. YESS!!!!! He's facing Juventud Guerrera. Juvi goes straight up and La Parka catches him on a crossbody attempt. This is La Parka, and La Parka loves to dance. He puts Juvi down for some reason once he's done dancing, and somehow Juvi gives him a rana off the top. On the outside, Juvi comes off the ropes and hits a HUGE crossbody to the outside after springboarding off the top rope. He flew! La Parka's back in, but Juvi's not. Juvi hits a springboard dropkick for a 2 count. Juvi does a nice 360 sell after a La Parka lariat, but unfortunately, La Parka blows a springboard moonsault. He pins Juvi and gets 2, but if I were Juvi I would have no-sold it. LP dumps the artist that would become the JUICE, and dives from the ring to the outside. Back in, and Juvi somersaults off the ropes and kicks La Parka. Juvi tries a rana off the top but gets superbombed (damn) and a somersault finishes the match for La Parka at 4:19. His music is obviously dubbed. *1/4. Didn't hold up when I watched it again.
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Flashback to the Outsiders/Steiners feud, nothing of note here. Then they cut to the Steiners with Mean Gene, and Scott's taking up more than half my TV screen. The guy is on every steroid known to man at this point. Dare I say he looked bigger then than he did during his Big Poppa Pump days.
High Voltage v. Public Enemy. The PE are over as shit, they control High Voltage for the duration of the match and Rocco then puts one of them through a table with a tope over the top rope. The crowd asked for it, they got it. PE are more over than anyone else who appeared on this show, no joke. Jeff Jarrett runs out to the ring with Mongo's briefcase, hits Johnny Grunge in the back with it and HIGH VOLTAGE get the upset win at 3:46. *. Mongo's really pissed off at Jarrett and says, you shouldn't have done that. Whatever.
___________________
The Giant and Lex Luger are out with Mean Gene after the break, and they've got some things to say about Hollywood Hogan. Well, the Giant's wearing a bib. For some reason, I'm not afraid of a man that wears a bib.
Psicosis v. Super Calo is next and this match sucks balls. Super Calo looks like one of the PE's, therefore, he must do the job. He does the job at 4 minutes after a Psicosis guillotine legdrop. DUD.
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The Faces of Fear are going to face Harlem Heat, who are accompanied by Sister Sherri.
The Barbarian tosses Booker T over the top rope to get started, and back on the inside, Booker gets a crossbody for two. Stevie Ray in with a scoop slam. Tag Meng, Meng poses and looks mean and shit. Once he's done with that, he backsuplexes Stevie, and then Stevie comes back with a big boot. Booker's in and he's heating up, scissor kick to Barbarian. Book tries it again, but gets crotched on the top rope this time. A double headbutt by the FoF gets a two count on Booker, and Meng gets a good looking backbreaker. Booker can't slam Meng and Meng gets two on the subsequent count. After that, Meng throws Booker into the head of Barbarian, as the Barbarian tags in. Sidewalk slam by Barb gets two. The Harlem Heat switch right in front of the ref and the ref allows it, and that's the first time I've ever seen a babyface team get away with that. And I've watched a lot of wrestling, folks. A Rocket Launcher by the Harlem Heat gets a two count, and Booker follows with the Harlem Sidekick. See, this is what you get when Booker does most of the work. A good match. Booker goes for a rana and gets a sitout powerbomb from Meng (wow, never seen him do that). Sherri's on the apron, Meng hits her and Booker rolls Meng up and grabs the tights at 8:32. **1/4, really good stuff. I thought it would blow at first.
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Madusa faces a Japanese lady whose name I don't want to butcher. This is a terrible match, there's nothing to note outside of Madusa's german suplex finisher at 2:43. DUD. They blew quite a few spots, no doubt because of Madusa's fake titties.
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On the road in Roanoke, yeah, yeah, yeah....
Renegade faces Jim Duggan in a Duggan squash, this match is completely useless and almost in -* range, but I'll give it a DUD to be nice. Duggan finished with a taped fist at 3:50. IF the match would have gone past the 5 minute mark, I would have neg star'd it.
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The French-Canadians w/Col. Robert Parker (who I like) are going to take on the Steiner Brothers, as we come out of the commercial break. Jacques Rougeau wants everyone to stand up for Oh Canada, but the referee Randy Anderson steals the mike from the Canadians before they can finish. Scott Steiner does his double-underhook front suplex to start and Rick clears the ring. The FC's team up and focus on Scott, they give him some generic offense and a short heat sequence. Tag Rick and the Steiners clean house again, but Robert Parker swings the Quebec flag at Scott and misses. While that's going on, Rick Steiner gets a piledriver from Carl Oulette and Le Cannonball for the 2 count. I really thought the match was going to be over there, just like PE's v. High Voltage from earlier. Jacques grabs the boot of Parker and swings it at a Steiner but misses, and Scott gets the pin at 4:02. Not bad. *1/4.
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Now, it's time for the main event of the evening...this match is for the Television Title! The challenger, accompanied to the ring by the NWO sans Scott Hall and Hollywood Hogan, he is the Macho Man RANDY SAVAGE OOOOOOOOHHHH YEAH!. The champion, with me having no fucking idea why he has the TV Title, is Prince Iaukea!.
On the way to the ring, Kevin Nash gives the widely known Kilq sign and says, "this is for you HBK." Savage armdrags Iaukea and Iaukea gets a shoulderblock in return. Tony says this is the first time Savage has wrestled on TV since October. Sheesh. A springboard crossbody by Iaukea gets two and he slams Savage for a 1 count. He chops Savage and goes to the top, but misses a crossbody. Savage takes over and drops Iaukea across the top rope. He slams him and GOES UP TOP FOR THE FLYING ELBOW. Savage picks Iaukea up, seemingly planning to deliver more punishment. BUT DDP HITS THE RING, and DEY BE BEATIN EACH OTHA TIL DEY CAN BARLY WALK TONY, but the NWO comes in from the outside and it's burial time. DQ win for Savage at 3:16, which is an odd time considering the direct WWF reference 5 minutes ago. 3/4*. The NWO gives a straight out ass-whoopin' to Page as Iaukea just lies in the center of the ring. Powerbomb for Page from Nash. Elbow on Page by Savage. They then hold Page still as Bischoff karate kicks him in the head. Tony calls that a back leg round kick. Jesus. Spraypaint for Iaukea after a powerbomb by Nash. Iaukea gets the obvious, NWO tag. But Page on the other hand, he gets a 0 on his back, cause that's what Savage says he is. End show. I don't know why they buried the TV champ like that, but it's WCW. Iaukea should have got out of dodge once he saw them hit the ring.
They kept a lot of top talent off the show this week, so I can't in good conscience give a good rating. This show dragged more than any show I've ever watched. By the time it hit Hour 2, the show had felt like it's been going for an hour and a half. A good Faces of Fear vs. Harlem Heat was the highlight of this show, and I'll probably rewatch it again.
Rating: Decent.
If you miss the MNW show this time around, you aren't missing very much.
The Angels lost today. GOOD.
A flashback to Wrestlemania 13 starts things off, where The Undertaker pinned Sycho Sid in one of the worst WWF main events I've ever seen. One of these days, I'll review it. Have I mentioned I love the entrance to Raw, with the warehouse and that cool song?
The Three Stooges say that the number one contender for the World Wrestling Federation Title is...MANKIND! He and The Undertaker do battle at IYH: Revenge of the Taker, and that can be seen on the 2nd part of the Tombstone DVD that's currently posted on WWE On Demand. I'm still tinkering with my review format, so it'll look different for the majority. It'll be somewhat similar to my last review.
The first match is for the WORLD WRESTLING FEDERATION TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP, and it's the BRITISH BULLDOG and OWEN HART vs. The Headbangers. The Champions are in caps.
A bit of background on this one, the breakup of Owen and Davey Boy has been teased for a while, and the Headbangers won an 4 way Elimination Tag Team match at Wrestlemania last night to get this title shot.
Owen does his reverse sequence to start things off with Mosh, you know, the opponent armbar, then Owen does his roll-throughs and front flip to change the tide. He reels off an armdrag (I am so fucking sick of this move), and a dragon screw(!) on Mosh. The Headbangers double team Owen, and we wind up with Bulldog and Thrasher in the ring. Bulldog with scoop slam, then a neat double team as he tags Owen and military presses Owen onto Thrasher for a 2 count. RAW goes to a split-screen format, as LOD prepare to face the champs at Revenge of the Taker. Ok, then. Mosh hits the post after a failed charge to the corner, and Bulldog comes back in with a spinebuster. A nice delayed suplex to Thrasher by the Bulldog, and Bulldog accidentally knocks Owen off the apron after being ran into by Thrasher. Owen's pissed and tells Bulldog, "see ya later, do it yourself." And we have a commercial break.
We're back ON MONDAY NIGHT RAW (/vince), and the Headbangers hit a sick combination move on Bulldog that looks somewhat like the Death Sentence of AMW fame. Headbangers with some more double-team moves and this time they really tease the Owen/Bulldog breakup, as Owen won't tag in. Meanwhile, Mosh bigsplashes Bulldog for a 2 count. He goes to whip Bulldog into the ropes, and Bulldog hits a sunset flip on the way back for a 1 count. The Headbangers try a doubleteam, but they both get DDT'd by Bulldog. Hot tag to Owen as he barely sticks his hand out there, and he's a HOUSE OF FIRE, with leg lariats and an overhead belly-to-belly for the opposition. He then hits a backbreaker and quickly tags Davey Boy back in, with Davey Boy having no time to rest. He hits a snap powerslam for two (not his finisher) and gets Owen back in there while he's unawares. Some variation from the norm by Owen, that's a gutwrench suplex and a top rope dropkick for Thrasher, and it's SHARPSHOOTER TIME in Rockford. The hold is broken up by Mosh, and Davey comes in and hits his finish, the POWERSLAM. He tries to drag Owen over for the cover, but Owen's having none of that. He's pissed, and wants to know why Bulldog's hands are on him. Bulldog pushes the ref at 9:31 (cut for commercials), and he goes to war with Owen. Owen wants the European Championship, and Bulldog says sure. Anytime, anywhere, but Owen only gets one shot. The match was **1/4.
Mankind's in the boiler room, and the geniuses with the WWF stuck a camera in there to find out why. Well, Mankind is pissed that Paul Bearer's not with him. He wants his Uncle Paul back.
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We're back from the break, and Bart Gunn's in the ring. He faces off against Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who's accompanied by this strongman named Chyna. Bret Hart's on the Titantron and wants his interview time. Where's my time Vince, where's my time. Everyone's gonna get a piece of Bret's mind. Helmsley freakin' carries Gunn through the first 5 minutes, making the match look decent. Gunn is about to try a bulldog on HHH (fuck it, it's easier, and it's what he is. So I'll call him that.) and Chyna pulls the rope down, dumping Gunn to the outside. Chyna bodyslams him on the outside and rams him into the steel post. HHH pulls Gunn back in and hits the Pedigree at 7:15. *1/2, all for HHH. By the way, next week, it's Goldust v. Hunter Hearst Helmsley, no Marlena at ringside and no Chyna at ringside.
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We're back, and there's a lucha match that I'm not going to review, because the shitty commentary guys did nothing during the entire match to distinguish the wrestlers from each other. They all look like Power Rangers except for one, who looks like a member of KISS. Anyway, on one team we have, Venum, Super Nova, & Discovery, and on the other we have Hysteria, Abismo Negro, & Maniaco. Bret's still pissed that he hasn't had time to talk yet. The Green Ranger is the best of these luchadors, he hits some great looking moves, but the Yellow Ranger is the worst. He blows balls...and spots. He blows two spots terribly, and the Blue Ranger finishes at 4:10. Apparently the Blue Ranger is on the first team, so sayeth thehistoryofwwe.com. *, pointless.
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An interview with both Rocky Johnson and Rocky Maivia airs, and it was shot earlier in this very building, as it was empty. Nothing stood out.
Honky Tonk Man's on his way to the ring for guest commentary, and the match is Flash Funk vs. The Brooklyn Brawler. Flash Funk's ring entrance is WAY TOO LONG, I didn't time it but I'll bet it's longer than this match. As one of the participants names would note, they brawl to start and Funk hits a rana. He grabs onto Brawler and hits a half-nelson back suplex, but catches knees on a standing moonsault attempt. Brawler throws Funk into the air for a flapjack, and for some reason, Funk throws Brawler to the outside. THAT reason, just so happens to be a plancha. Back inside for a crossbody by Funk for a 2 count, another back suplex, and the 450 splash finishes at 3:07. Yeah, the entrance was longer than the match.
Shamrock's on the Titantron to explain why he stopped the I Quit Match at WM 13, and we go to break afterward. He gives little insight.
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We're back with the start of Warzone, and Bret's finally going to get his interview time. To be kind, the reception is lukewarm as opposed to dead, which is what this crowd really is.
Bret apologizes for his actions in the past few weeks, but he damn sure isn't apologizing to the Americans in the crowd. He hates Shawn Michaels, and says that Shawn poses for gay magazines. I like HBK for some reason and no, it ain't cause I'm gay, but it wouldn't surprise me if he really did pose for a gay magazine. Bret's going to clean up the WWF. With middle fingers and vulgarity the likes of which he displays in this promo. He makes fun of Shawn's lost smile and haven't we all, and follows that up with all to oft-used, "you Americans can kiss my ass." Like I haven't heard that before. Everyone screws Bret (ugh), so HBK comes out and gives us a little business exposure as he mentions how hard it is to get the title belt away from Bret Hart. He puts over Stone Cold Steve Austin, says that the fans can do what they want, and at the same time, Shawn wants to fight Bret. Bret tells Shawn he better walk to the back and get the hell out of his face. That line was so brilliantly delivered it could almost be believed to be real. Shawn says that Bret must be you-know-what, cause how else would he know if Shawn posed nude in magazines. Now they fight, and Bret ringpost Figure-Four leglocks him to cement his heel turn. Sid comes out for some reason and chases Bret to the back. Ooooook.
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But Bret really didn't stay in the back for very long, as he makes his way out to the commentary table as an unwanted guest for the match between the Intercontinental Champion, Rocky Miavia, and Al Snow Leif Cassidy. The bout is not for the Intercontinental Championship. Snow misses a frog splash when they cut back to the ring that would have missed even if Rocky didn't roll. Al is so unsatisfied with his job that at this point, he really doesn't give a shit. Belly-to-belly by Rocky gets 2, and then his rollover DDT and crossbody from the top finish the bout, as the Intercontinental Champ picks up the victory. And he is not over, at all. In fact, this crowd is dead, and has been all show. DUD for the match.
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The last match of the show is Ahmed Johnson vs Savio Vega, the Nation of Domination made their way to the arena, but they're staying on the entrance ramp, because Ahmed brought his Jim Duggan endorsed 2x4. Faarooq's "hospitalized", so he's not there. Crush is the defacto leader. Savio works him over with rights, left, and spinning heel kicks. Ahmed back-bumps off a chop, which shows you that he's ready to work tonight. This is getting the full recap treatment, as it's has some time behind it and it's the main event. Ahmed comes back with an atomic drop, and they dump to the outside after an Ahmed clothesline puts them over the top rope.
Commercial break.
We're back, and Ahmed's in the midst of delivering a delayed vertical suplex. Ahmed goes up to the top and somersaults onto Savio Vega, certainly "Holy Shit" worthy if you ask me, but the crowd makes no noise. Goodness. Afterward, he misses an elbow drop, so Savio regains control with a superkick. Savio goes to the sleeper and they rest, FF 25 seconds and Ahmed starts a comeback. Uranage (which becomes Rock Bottom) by Ahmed, then a shitty spinebuster and the Nation's on their way down to the ring. Ahmed goes for the Pearl River Plunge, instead of Savio taking it, Crush pulls him out and that's DQ worthy at 6:09, cut. Ahmed Johnson gets the victory. Ahmed grabs his 2x4 and the Nation backs off. Ahmed then challenges the Nation to a "if I beat one of you, you leave the WW[bleep] forever," match. The Nation no-sells his proposal, and then walks to the back. The match was *1/2, Johnson wanted to work tonight and did his best. His best ain't that good, but whatever.
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Paul Bearer's standing by backstage as the show returns from commercial break, and he wants to talk with someone, but he doesn't say who that is in particular. The Undertaker comes to the ring with the Championship he won the night before at Wrestlemania 13, and cuts a terrible promo. He's not good with the long interview format, but he says one good thing that stands out. The WWF is in for dark days. Yeah, no shit. They were in for dark days long before you got the belt, and they will be for your whole title reign. I like UT, but he's not saying anything the smark community doesn't know 10 years later. Which is why I found it interesting. Uncle Paul comes to the ring and Mankind appears on the Titantron. Mankind needs Paul and this show comes to an abrupt end. No forewarning, just the copyrights and that's it. Weird. I think they ran over the alloted time and couldn't get an overrun, so the show came to an abrupt halt as they were about to get to the meat of the promo.
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I'm not entirely interested in RAW, as the WWF is clearly the worse of the two big federations at this time. I usually enjoy Nitro the most. This certainly dragged, but the Bret promo was strong once Shawn came out, and RAW started strong with the opener for the Tag Team Titles. The last match was passable, but the crowd's lack of enthusiasm for everything besides the opening fireworks was terrible. I have no idea why Rocky had a title at this time. He's useless. I know what they're setting things up for, but getting there wasn't exactly setting the world on fire.
Rating: Decent.
I'm going to review Nitro tomorrow, and comments are most definitely welcome. I already watched it and took notes, but I won't spill the beans, no I won't.
10 p.m.
• This is why I didn't major in math.
9 p.m.
• The hell's wrong with people.
• So I guess the lesson here is if you bust black people breaking the law, you're a RACIST.
4:30 p.m.
• Gee, you can’t tell this dipshit used to be a high-ranking politician.
Jimmy Carter flexing his muscles. Weird.
• So I was listening to Mike and Mike this morning, and the skinny Jew was bitching about the MLB playoff games being on TBS because that means some kid whose family didn’t have cable couldn’t watch the games on television. That’s what a radio is for. Besides, I remember a few years ago there was bitching about the games being on too many stations – FX, some family channel, TBS (I think). So shut the fuck up already. Having today’s games on TBS is fine. And if some poor family can’t afford cable, they should be working more anyway. Poor people piss me off.
Amazing, kids actually learn better and become smarter by DOING things. It seems this study finds that playing with blocks produces smarter children than playing classical music to them while they are in their crib or even in the womb.
Some dopes actually believe that if they put on Mozart it will somehow stimulate the infant's brainwaves and develop their brain better. Uh, sure. I guess this is similar to the old tall tale that if you play audio of some textbook under your pillow at night you'll "absorb" the knowledge right into your cerebellum. Knock it off people, achieve by doing, don't be like... teachers.
7:45am
The brand new Airbus A380--the largest passenger plane in the world--flew into Greater Cincinnati Airport today as part of a promotional tour. This is a French built plane (Airbus is a French company and a big rival to Boeing). The engines are manufactured by a joint venture between usual rivals General Electric and Pratt and Witney.
The GE engine plant is right here in Cincinnati and on its way to the airport it did a low altitude flyby over the GE plant, which is about 25 miles north of the airport and close to where I work. We could see the thing out the window of our office building. Eh, big deal, it's a frog plane, I'll take a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner anyday. A lot of people around the area phoned police about the low flying plane, thinking it was in trouble or a terrorist attack despite forewarning by Cincinnati authorities.
During these long, hot Texas summers, what better way to beat the heat than to buy a vehicle with air conditioned seats?
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There isn't one single goddamn radio station in this town that is carrying the MLB playoffs. I mean, seriously--what the FUCK is up with that? We have FOUR sports radio stations in this town (including an ESPN radio affiliate) and not one of them can pick up even the shitty Westwood One network calls of the games? Christ. I knew I should have taken the rest of this afternoon off.
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So I just got this invitation through the mail here at work from something called the "Houston Energy & Finance Forum." I've never heard of it, but apparently they know who I am ( ) because I've been invited to attend some luncheon/seminar they're hosting next Wednesday at the Hyatt downtown. The topic? Building a career and a life, which apparently means they're going to speak about integrating my professional, personal, and spiritual life into one big harmonious pile of crap. I'm not sure I want to know who thought this up or what the purpose is.
What I would like to know is how they got my name because, after discussing this with a co-worker and asking a few individuals around the floor, it looks like I might be the only one invited to this thing. Nobody else seems to know anything about it. There hasn't even been some lame company-wide e-mail sent out informing us of this prestigious event.
Oh, wait, what's this? Does it say here that the CEO of my company is part of the host committee? The same CEO that I've never met and whom probably wouldn't know who I was if I walked up and punched him in the face right now? Or...wait. Does he actually know who I am and is fully expecting me to attend this thing? Have I been put on some sort of "rising star" list around here (just as one co-worker/partial supervisor has been saying for months) that requires me to go to things like this? Should I ignore it completely? Should I call them to say I'm not coming? Should I go and indulge in a free lunch?
I have no clue. And I have no idea what to do.
Playoffs start tomorrow. The Angels will win the World Series.
They skipped a week of NWA, I'm not going to complain, as the "main" was Krusher Khrushchev vs. Pez Whatley, for the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title.
The program starts off with some Dusty moments from the past, haha, then Dusty's in LIVE AND LIVING COLOR BRUDDA. Hey... He looks to be in pretty good shape, for Dusty anyway. Doesn't look like he's aged much at all.
Then the geniuses in the 24/7 department flashback to Halloween Havoc 1995, when the Horsemen reform by kicking the shit out of Sting. Flair, Arn, and Pillman version. I haven't seen much of this stuff, so I appreciate when the video department does this.
David Crockett and Schiavone host, and they talk about the TV Title tournament that's upcoming on the 4th of January 1986. The TV title tournament was booked when 3 of the future Four Horsemen (sans Tully) broke Dusty's ankle during the infamous angle after Flair defended his title against inside the not so high NWA steel cage. If you haven't seen the angle, you really need to. The tournament ends with
in the final; then they talk about the Championship Challenge series that's been occuring on these weekly shows for the past month or so. This show is from the TV studio.
Now, a forewarning. For these squash shows, my recaps are different. Highlights of the match, a brief thought and a rating. That's it. The long matches get a rating, then only the blow-by-blow, and a little analysis, but no prematch, as these matches start straight out of the commercial break. For Nitros and Raws, that will be dealt with accordingly.
1st match, one half of the National Tag Team Champions (don't ask), Ole Anderson w/Arn Anderson v. Bob Wayne.
Lame armwork by Ole and hey, Teddy Long's the ref!! He's sporting a skullet. Ew. All Ole does this match is an armbar, scoop slam, knee off the top rope and an armbar for the submission finish at 4:31. DUD. Way too long.
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Paul Jones cuts a promo for the Barbarian, because he's a mute, you know. Lame heelish verbage, and they talk about the TV Title tourney on the 4th. I kinda wish I had a video of that tournament.
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Commercial break, and we're back with the 2nd match, Nikita Koloff w/Uncle Ivan v. Tony Zane.
Zane tries a rollup but gets shrugged off, Uncle Ivan yells "WHERE ARE ROAD WARRIOR" as Nikita roughs up the jobber. Nikita no-sells some jobber punches and finishes with the RUSSIAN SICKLE OF COMMUNIST POWER AND MIGHT STRAIGHT OUTTA MOSCOW for 3 at 2:57. Better match, more bearable and ended quickly. 1/2*.
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Magnum and Dusty cut a promo, they're called America's Team here, and Magnum has some wear on his forehead from a ROUGH bladejob. It looks like the guy stabbed himself with a steakknife in the head. Poor promo by Dusty, nothing compared to the one he cut 2 weeks before.
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Barbarian's back out for the 3rd match with Paul Jones in tow, he'll be facing Richard Dunn.
He bites him, hits a delayed vertical suplex that's better than Davey Boy's, as much as I hate to say it. Big powerslam from Barbarian and a diving headbutt off the top finishes at 5:03. WAY too long, 1/4*.
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Tully with a promo about Magnum, where he declares that he wears this gym sweatshirt from Magnum's hometown so that he never forgets what Magnum TA took from him. He's also entering the tournament for the Television Title. I don't think much of Tully's promos.
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In the 4th match, Krusher Khrushchev w/Ivan Koloff takes on Bill Mulkey.
Big beel, HAMMERLOCK SLAM (I love that move), and a SICKLE finishes at 1:56. * for the hammerlock slam.
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JJ Dillon thinks Nature Boy Buddy Landel is a member of the New England Patriots, as Buddy and the National Title don't get any respect, but Buddy isn't out there. In fact, he dropped the belt before this show aired, and wasn't heard from again. Wiki says he had drug problems and left the company. Dumbass.
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In the 5th match, Tully Blanchard w/Baby Doll faces off against Vernon Deaton.
Supposedly Baby Doll is a perfect 10. Uh, no. Idiot jobber gives Tully no help on a headlock takeover, Tully hits a nice European Uppercut and finishes with the Slingshot Suplex at 4:34. *.
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This show is really dragging along, as Arn comes out and has some words to say about the TV title tournament, and his favorite tag team, the Rock N Roll Express. Words of anger and spite, as he wants the World Tag Team Titles.
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In the 6th match, it's Sam Houston v. Kent Glover.
Houston screws around way too long with Glover and gives him way too much offense, IMO. A bulldog finishes at 6:13. A complete AND TOTAL FUCKING WASTE OF TIME. DUD. I noticed earlier that Teddy Long's been the ref for each match, and I've gotta wonder, is the promotion about to go out of business here? Everyone's turning in shitty performances, and Schiavone hasn't said more than 20 words. The enthusiasm isn't there tonight. Must've been the last taping after a long day.
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THE REAL WORLD'S CHAMP, the NATURE BOY RIC FLAIR BABY comes out and has a message for everyone. He's a modern-day sex symbol, he's the best dressed, best lookin' man out there. He doesn't go on the jet flyin' rant, Space Mountain WHOO, but he puts Jim Crockett and the Championship Challenge over instead, the kind of action you only get on the Superstation, hear that. Dusty's gonna get it when they rassle on Christmas, and since it's Christmas, Flair's in the season of giving. 300 dollars for Tony so Tony can take his wife and kids to dinner. Dinner must be good for the Schiavone's. 200 bucks for Magnum so he can buy some nicer clothes, and get this, a whopping 500 BUCKS for Dusty, so he can buy himself a ticket out of ATLANTA DADDY.
WHOO.
WHOO.
WHOO.
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Great stuff from Flair. Livened things up a bit, until this, anyway.
Ron Garvin and the Ragin' Bull vs. Black Bart and Thunderfoot, which is one of the worst gimmicks I've ever seen in my fucking life. He's dressed sorta like Radioactive Man, and I can't believe they previously had JJ Dillon with this clown. This match is part of the SuperStation Championship Challenge Series.
Blow-by-blow: Ragin' Bull has a deep cut on his forehead from the houseshow circuit that looks as if it's going to bust open any moment. It looks terrible. Garvin and Black Bart start, Garvin tries to throw Bart out but he holds on. Garvin works on the leg and tags Bull in, and he takes over the leg work with a splash to the leg of Bart, and a headbutt to the groin of Bart. Thunderfoot comes in and establishes himself as a real tough guy in the squared circle with a clothesline and an elbow drop. But he gets dumped and Bull tries to take Thunderfoot's boot off (What the fuck? I find out why later.) Bart comes back in and hits the Bull with a back elbow, and Bull bails out with a tag to Garvin. Garvin's terrible offense consists of a snapmare, a crucifix for a two count, a headscissor, and Teddy Long (still in there) breaks it up once Bart grabs hold of the ropes. Garvin steps on Black Bart's hand. Wow. Anyway, they both exchange chops, but Bart says no more of that, and Thunderfoot's in. A slam and elbow drop get a 1 count, and a headlock by Thunderfoot takes us to a commercial break.
Garvin doesn't know what selling is. Pitiful.
We're back, with Bart and Garvin inside the ring. Garvin with PUNCHES OF STONE and thankfully Bart no-sells it. Something we're seeing a lot of here. 2 of the guys in this match don't sell, and Thunderfoot has a mask, so he can't. It's like watching children wrestle in the living room. Thunderfoot grabs a tag-rope choke on Garvin, but thankfully this isn't the start of a heat sequence with Garvin as FIP, as Ragin' Bull gets in. He hits his third back elbow of the match, and gives a bodyslam and kneedrop from the second rope to Thunderfoot for a 2 count. Heat sequence time and I'm not going to recap that part, but once Thunderfoot gets in, a backbreaker is served up to Bull. Bull rages for a second, gives a suplay to Thunderfoot AND WE HAVE BLOOD, as the Ragin' Bull's cut on the forehead magically opens up. If I were to wager, I bet that blade-job left a scar. Words don't do it justice. This match is fuckin' terrible, so I'll skip ahead to Thunderfoot loading up his boot (and that's why the Bull tried to get TF's boot off, HIS FEET ARE ENDOWED WITH A POWER THAT CAN ONLY BE ATTRIBUTED TO THAT OF WCW THUNDER). From there, literally 2 seconds after the boot gets loaded up, Garvin tags in quickly with no build for a sunset flip off the top at 14:34 for the three count. Where to start with this mess? The match had no flow, and I'm really tempted to give it negative stars. I'll give it 1/2*, don't try that at home kids. Everyone will fall asleep and there'll be nobody to call an ambulance when you break your necks. I recommend a fastforward through this part if you plan on watching it. A complete waste of time.
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Crockett comes out and I fucking marked, as in the last installment of the SuperStation Championship Challenge next week, we will have a US TITLE MATCH BETWEEN MAGNUM FUCKING TA AND OLE ANDERSON. I don't care for Ole, but hot shit, that's going to be fun. Flair comes out and puts Crockett over again, and says he's pissed about not being a part of the action, but pesky old Ron Garvin's standing at the other side of the announce table, looking for some promo time. Uh-oh, you don't cut off the World's Champion, JACK. Flair and Garvin have words, mostly Flair, and Garvin says he wants to wrestle. Flair says, why wait when we can do it next week. Ric says he'll buy a whole hour from Turner and they'll do it. Bad as Garvin is, a Flair match is most certainly welcome. I don't know why anyone put a World Title on that clown.
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In match #8, the Rock N Roll Express face the other Mulkey, Randy, and Larry Clarke.
Rock and Roll chant halfway through a boring match, neckbreaker from Ricky Morton, and a backsuplex from Ricky Morton, and a sunset flip finishes at 6:49. Almost 7 minutes for a squash? Get out of here. 1/2*
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Magnum TA faces George South in a US Title match that will surely get a full recap. Magnum shoulderblocks him, press slam's him, and a side belly-to-belly finishes at 0:27. My kind of squash match. *.
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In the 10th match, of which there have been far too many, as this lacked a long 6 man tag like the last aired episode to speed things up, it's Arn Anderson vs. Josh Stroud.
This Stroud guy definitely has the "WWF look", he's roided to the gills. I'm surprised Vince didn't see this, hire him, and give him a push. Arn works the left arm for the full duration of the match, but it's not like Ole's match where it was literally ALL HE DID. Arn wants Dusty Rhodes in this very ring, a hammerlock slam leads to a Gourdbuster that finishes the match at 4:27. *
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Dusty Rhodes is bad, baby. Ric Flair's bad, Tully Blanchard's bad, the Russians are bad, the Barbarian is bad, Buddy Landel is bad, JJ Dillon is bad, the Andersons are bad, the Midnights are bad...ok, you get it, but nobody's as bad as Dusty Freakin' Rhodes, you hear me?
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In the last match, Ivan Koloff brings one of the Russians down with him as he faces Dan Turner.
Ivan dumps him in a hurry and JUMPS DOWN TO THE CONCRETE ON TURNER. Holy crap, he can fly. Koloff gives Turner a stiff looking swinging neckbreaker, but on the first Russian Sickle attempt he misses. Turner hits a crossbody for two, but you absolutely cannot fuck with Moscow, which leads to the ever-so-obvious Russian Sickle to finish at 3:58. The best match of this show, I shit you not. *1/2, mostly for the jump by Ivan to the studio floor.
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To finish, RIC FLAIR cuts ANOTHER PROMO, puts over Ivan Koloff, and says he's going to screw 8,000 women on Christmas morning. That's a visual. He ain't afraid of no Ron Garvin, and Dusty's gonna see what happens Christmas night, when Naitch' WALKS DOWN THAT AISLE and into the squared circle, it's gonna be lights for Rhodes.
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I rate the television shows this way. Great, good, above-average, decent, poor, bad, absolutely terrible. Teddy Long officiated EVERY SINGLE MATCH and the match in the middle of the show that can usually be counted on to deliver wasn't so hot. Terrible, at that. The squash matches were too long. Very little talent was used, what about the Midnights and Cornette? The Road Warriors? What about Billy Jack Haynes, who they were giving a decent push, and Terry Taylor? This show wasn't the same without Jimmy Valiant, sad to say. That's the type of character that should be on a squash show.
Rating: Bad.
Comments are welcome.
Before I get to my awards picks, here's my quick rundown of what I want out of this postseason.
1. No Red Sox/Yankees ALCS. Do I need to explain?
2. No Rockies/D-Backs NLCS. Do I need to explain?
3. D-Backs don't win the World Series. We have one 90's expansion team with two world championships already, we don't need another.
4. Indians win the ALCS. Besides the Giants, there are no teams in baseball that I would rather see less in a World Series than the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels. The second the Indians are eliminated is the second I tune out from the postseason.
My gut feeling is we get another Yankees/D-Backs World Series with the Yankees prevailing this time. Finally Yankees' fans many years of suffering will be over! On to the awards.
I should note that when I post my player rankings for the year there may be some differences from my awards but mainly because I throw this together pretty quick. Last year I had C.C. Sabathia as 3rd for A.L. Cy Young but by the time I did the rankings for starting pitchers I had Sabathia about 5th or 6th. Also I'm going to be lazy and not bother with typing out players stats. You know where to find them anyways.
N.L. MVP
This was a wide open race all year with no one ever seeming to take a real strangle hold on the spot as favorite. The media has narrowed it down to Matt Holliday, Jimmy Rollins, and Prince Fielder but my choice is David Wright as he was just a tad better across the board. Any writer's who held out until the last second to submit their ballots probably filled in Holliday's name at #1 today and his late season surge I think will make him a PAC (Pefectly Acceptable Choice) but it's a shame that Wright is unlikely to finish better than 4th and the Mets' collapse has completely overshadowed his amazing season. Fielder would be a pretty uninspiring choice and Rollins would be almost on the level of Justin Morneau winning the A.L. MVP last year.
1.
2. Matt Holliday, Rockies
3. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
4. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
5. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins
6. Prince Fielder, Brewers
7. Chipper Jones, Braves
8. Chase Utley, Phillies
9. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
10. Ryan Howard, Phillies
N.L. Cy Young
This and A.L. MVP are by far the easiest choices. Hopefully no idiot writers will decide to penalize Jake Peavy for lack of clutchiness on the mound last night as he was far and away the best pitcher in the N.L. and should be the unanimous winner. 2nd place was also very easy but 3rd place proved very difficult to decide but finally went with John Smoltz over Aaron Harang, subject to change of course when I do the pitcher rankings.
1.
2. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
3. John Smoltz, Braves
N.L. Rookie of the Year
This will be my most questionable choice. ROY's I think can be very tough to choose because you are dealing with candidates who some played the whole season and others who were midseason call ups. Ryan Braun was an absolute force at the plate but he's also hacker (29 BB/112 SO) and a liabiltiy defensively. So I decided to go with Troy Tulowitzki, who was with the Rockies the whole season, giving them Gold Glover caliber defense at shortstop and by the end of the year had put up some strong offensive numbers.
1.
2. Ryan Braun, Brewers
3. Hunter Pence, Astros
A.L. MVP
Magglio Ordonez had a shockingly good rebound year and hung tough for a very long time in this race but by the end of the year he couldn't stick with A-Rod. All have to say about my ballot is, seriously what the fuck happened to Carlos Pena this year? Biggest fluke ever or best late bloomer ever?
1.
2. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers
3. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
4. David Ortiz, Red Sox
5. Vladmir Guerrero, Angles
6. Carlos Pena, Devil Rays
7. Victor Martinez, Indians
8. Grady Sizemore, Indians
9. Jorge Posada, Yankees
10. Curtis Granderson, Tigers
A.L. Cy Young
Josh Beckett is going to win the writer's award. There was so much hand wringing and phony outrage by the baseball writer's last year about there being no 20 game winners in either league that anyone who won 20 games this season with an ERA under 4 is going to win the award. Not to say Beckett will be a bad choice, just the wrong choice.
1.
2. Josh Beckett, Red Sox
3. Johan Santana, Twins
A.L. Rookie of the Year
Toughest pick of them all. Jeremy Guthrie has no shot at all at the writer's award due to having only a 7-5 record but he's my pick here in pretty much a coin flip over Dustin Pedroia. Hell I couldn't even find a picture of 2007 baseball card for Guthrie.
1. Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles
2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
3. Brian Bannister, Royals
What a game last night between the Rockies and Padres to decide the NL wild card. I missed the ending because my need to get some sleep before work today forced me to go to bed...after the 12th inning (of course!). Another 15 minutes or so and I would have seen one hell of an ending.
Nevertheless, here are my official, non-scientific, mostly off-the-top-of-my-head picks for the MLB playoffs. I normally don't do these but since the Cubbies are in this year, I figure what the hell. Feel free to mock when I'm wrong about every single series:
NATIONAL LEAGUE:
NLDS:
Chicago Cubs v. Arizona Diamondbacks
The Cubs have the NL's best record since June and possibly the strongest rotation of any NL playoff team. Arizona's success this year is a mystery; 14th in the league in runs scored and a -20 run differential for the year really shouldn't translate to 90 wins, but here they are. The Dbacks bullpen is solid, partly evidenced by their exceptional record in 1-run games. The Dbacks also won the season series 4-2. What does all of that mean? I don't know. You could dig up all the stats in the world to show why Arizona is better than the Cubs and it wouldn't stop me from picking the CUBS in 4.
NLDS:
Colorado Rockies v. Philadelphia Phillies
The Rockies' rotation and bullpen is better than most people think and they're carrying a ton of momentum into the playoffs, having finished the season on a 14-1 roll. The Phillies squeaked past the Mets to get in (yeah!) and also bring a lot of momentum into the playoffs, finishing on a 16-7 roll themselves. Does season-ending momentum matter in the playoffs? Not really (see: Tigers v. Cardinals, 2006 World Series). What matters here is that these two teams led the National League in runs scored for the season and are capable of putting double-digits on the board at any time. However, given that the Rockies' bullpen does not completely suck, I'm going to pick the ROCKIES in 5.
NLCS:
Colorado Rockies v. Chicago Cubs
CUBS in 6
AMERICAN LEAGUE:
ALDS:
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim v. Boston Red Sox
The Angels posted the best home record in all of baseball. Unfortunately, they don't have home field in this series, so who cares? Angels were 4th in the league in runs scored (822), just behind Boston (867). Angels finished 5th in the league in team ERA; Boston was 1st. The Angels have Vlad Guerrero and Garrett Anderson; Boston trumps them with Manny Ramirez/David Ortiz. Mike Scioscia's a better manager than Terry Francona but the Angels' lack of a high-priced, Japanese hired gun hurts them. But at least they have the "good" Weaver brother. On a bright note, the Angels did average nearly 5,000 more asses in the seats per game this season--that has to count for something other than extra bucks in the owner's pockets, right? Wrong. The Rally Monkey's gonna have to work some overtime. RED SOX in 5.
ALDS:
New York Yankees v. Cleveland Indians
Too bad the Indians blew their chance at having the AL's best record; the chance to possibly start C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona twice each in this series would really help them knock the EVIL~! Yankees out of this race and spare us all the horror of watching yet another Yankees/Red Sox ALCS. Instead, we'll have to hope that the Tribe can hold down the Yankees' vaunted offense long enough to take advantage of NY's mediocre pitching, featuring a washed-up Roger Clemens in Game 3, and win a few games. Cleveland's 0-6 mark against the Yankees this year would suggest that might be asking a bit much, but I'll pick them anyway because I'm sick of the Yankees and want them out of the way as soon as possible. INDIANS in 5.
ALCS:
Cleveland Indians v. Boston Red Sox
INDIANS in 7
WORLD SERIES:
Chicago Cubs v. Cleveland Indians
Nothing against the Indians, but I pick the Cubs to win the Series every year. Chicago Cubs in 5.
9:30 p.m.
• There are times when you read something and another thought from long ago pops up. That happened with a recent Drudge headline. When I saw this:
I thought back to an old Willie D song with the following verse:
Weird.
7:30 p.m.
• So I was reading Jack's blog and I remembered that the MLB playoffs are coming up. Seeing how I batted a perfect 1.000 last year (not getting a single matchup correct in the first round), I might as well do this again. Because I don't want anyone accusing me of copying Mr. SFA, I stopped reading his entry and decided to do my picks before continuing Notes From Cubicle 348J3-29$43*903=284A9@0sP. Let's see:
NLDS:
Cubs v. Diamondbacks
Fuck, I dunno. I'm kinda rooting for the Cubs just so they can win without Racist Dusty. I'm sure Lou will play a lot of white guys when the weather turns cold. However, I totally screwed up my pre-season prediction of the D-backs, so I'll go with them. On second thought, I want to talk about Steve Bartman later on. How's that you stat freaks? D-backs in 4 Cubs in 5.
Rockies v. Phillies
Both teams played good, and fuck Philadelphia for screwing up my contest with Al Keiper. I might as well jinx these faggots and pick them to move on. Phillies in 3.
NLCS:
Cubs v. Phillies
Great. Two liberal towns. I don't know much about the Daly machine, and Philly gave me Fast Eddie. Kiss my ass Phillies. I heard Chicago is talking about jacking the sales tax up to the highest in the country, but I don't live there so what do I care? Besides, you live in a blue state, you deserve what you get. Wait, I live in Pennsylvania. Sonofabitch. Cubs in 7.
ALDS:
Angels v. Sox
I actually like the Angels, but I heard that roided-up Gary Jr. is hurt. For shame. Hey, I'm actually making a guess based on baseball news. Sox in 3.
Yankees v. Indians
Cleveland. Pfft. Come on A-Rod, hit the goddamn ball in the postseason. I'm one of your biggest supporters, so don't punk out on me. Hell, Barry Bonds played solid when the Giants went to the Big Show earlier this decade. You can do it, too. I'm sure the Indians are the better team, but the East Coast Bias will make sure we get Yanks vs. Sox Part 3498209. Yankees in 4.
ALCS:
New York Yankees v. Boston Red Sox.
I want the Yanks to win just because they get branded with that evil empire shit. Fuck that. George S. wants to win, so let the man spend his money. Hell, if the Pirates got a TV deal like the Yankees have, those Jews will just pocket all the money anyway. I would have went for the Sox to win, but since they broke their hex a few years ago, that would be no fun to pick. I want the Yankees to move on, but if I pick them that would spell certain doom. Then again, I picked them in the first round so they're probably fucked already. No matter. Sox in 6.
WORLD SERIES:
Cubs v. Sox
Just to give the middle finger to Racist Dusty and to let Steve Bartman off the hook, I'll go with the Cubs. Now I get joking around with the "die Bartman" jokes, but if there are any Cubs fans legit mad, then you losers deserve a team that hasn't won shit for God knows how long. The only good thing to come out of this Bartman thing was when some Howard Stern caller got on SportsCenter and punked out the network. Cubs in 6.
Hey, Jack and I picked the same team to win it all. I bet our reasons why are similar, too.
4:30 p.m.
• You know you could just move up there. Yeah, I know, political statement and all.
I've seen some of the women up in Canada. She's got her work cut out for her. Please note that's a compliment for the femmes north of the border.
7 a.m.
• While Smues is talking about technological gizmos to improve his job, let me tell you one gadget that I need on my job: fingers. Fingers to stuff envelopes. Yes, instead of investing in a stuffing machine or outsourcing the labor, every three months my employers give us a big ol’ stack of envelopes to stuff. And of course even though I know these stuffings are coming, I never get told of them until after there’s a stack under my in-box. Why am I talking about this now? Because today was supposed to be an envelope-stuffing day. That is until I discovered THE ENVELOPES WE USE TO STUFF OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IN ARE OUT OF STOCK! Then again, it's possible the person who has to order the envelopes wasn't told of this quarter's great envelope stuffing drive. Once again, I repeat: How does this place manage to stay in business? Then
James Brown had to be embarrassed as a black man when he pimped the 60 minutes segment on Vince Young and had to lead in to a clip featuring a Young quote. Young, eschewing the time-honored double negative preferred by ignorami for centuries, passed go and went straight for the triple negative. In responding to a question regarding being told by critics (and presumably coaches) that he should be less reckless he said "Can't nobody tell me nothing." Now, trying to glean any meaning from the grammar of that sentence would probably produce a confused look similar no doubt to the look on the face of the scholar who was first presented with Egyptian heiroglyphics and asked "what does this mean?" But it certainly has a lot of street cred, I guess.
"Timeout" is the latest fad for "correcting" children (and utterly bullshit) but now we have a situation in football where the adults are getting hip to timeouts--and the refs are enabling them.
On Sunday during the Florida v. Auburn game the Florida coach was allowed to call a timeout during his opponents field goal attempt in such a way so that the kicker was forced to go through with the kick but it wouldn't count. So he had to kick it again. This is effing bs. It would be awesome though, if a coach tried this and the kicker missed the 1st attempt, and because of the timeout, kicked it again and made it. Ouch.
